HR Magazine 2013 Summer

Summer 2013

extreme recruitment innovation HR punking candidates at interview

Australia AU$7 China 짜50 Hong Kong HK$45 India Rs250 Indonesia Rp50,000 Japan 짜650 Malaysia RM15

New Zealand NZ$9 Philippines P250 Singapore S$8 South Korea W6,500 Thailand Bt200 Vietnam US$6 Rest of the World US$15

I SS N 2221-8394

Mass exodus: 1/3 of HK execs looking to work overseas

Pernod Ricard: putting people before the brand

Diversity blues: where did all the women go?

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

HR MAGAZINE EDITORIAL Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

Paul Arkwright Copy Editor

HR is always on the lookout for increasingly

Sophie Pettit

innovative ways of attracting the best talent, and now they’re really pushing

Staff Writers

the boat out. Heineken recently started

Philippa Edwards

‘punking’ candidates while they attended

Drew McNeill

their job interviews. Our cover story on page

Sarah Purcell

16 gives the lowdown on the latest global recruitment trends and looks at just how far

ART

HR is going to bring on board the best of the

Designer

best globally.

Malou Ko

IN THE NEWS Photographers

Overseas assignments on the up, while,

Graham Uden

back home, office squeezes force HR to get more flexible. On the tech front: Happy Appy Shake and LinkedIn homes on passive

Enquiries

hires. Dismal diversity results mean it would

Editorial Enquiries

Paul Arkwright Tel: (852) 2736 6318 paul@excelmediagroup.org

Paul Arkwright Publisher & Editor-in-Chief HR Magazine

take 80 years to get parity between women and men on boards.

Special feature

Advertising Enquiries

Why HR is not doing enough to attract

Jeffrey Choi

women on Boards and advice from Harvey

Tel: (852) 2736 6339

Nash on enhancing workplace diversity,

jeffrey@excelmediagroup.org

page 29.

Kim Lam

HR features

Tel: (852) 2736 6862

Why a third of Hong Kong executives are

kim@excelmediagroup.org

looking to relocate overseas to enhance job prospects, page 22.

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Bernard Coulaty, VP HR, Pernod Ricard

Vivian Wong

Asia shares secrets from the global beverage

Tel: (852) 2736 6375

giant on the importance of putting people

Fax: (852) 2736 6369

before the brand, page 24.

subs@excelmediagroup.org

Integrated payroll solutions panacea or pain in the proverbial? Page 34.

PUBLISHED BY

Excel Media Group Ltd.

HR COMMUNITY

Unit 101 Fourseas Building

People in Energy East Conference, Malaysia

208–212 Nathan Road,

and HR Magazine’s Graduate Recruitment

Jordan, Kowloon

Conference in Hong Kong and International

Hong Kong

Enneagram Association APAC Conference, page 46.

PRINTED BY

Paramount Printing Company Ltd. 1/F, 8 Chun Ying Street Tseung Kwan O Industrial Estate Tseung Kwan O, NT

No part of this publication can be reproduced without consent from the publisher. Copyright of all material is reserved

Hong Kong

throughout the publication. Contributions are welcome but copies of work should be kept, because HR Magazine takes no responsibility for lost submissions. The views, conclusions, findings and opinions published in this magazine belong to those expressing such, and do not necessarily represent those of the publisher, editor or editorial staff.

SUMMER 2013 • 1

CONTENTS 04 HR NEWS 04 HR news 14 HR events 15 HR in numbers

16 HR FEATURES 16 Employer branding gets branded: Randstad Award 2013 18 Cover story: HR punks potential candidates 22 Mass exodus from HK—Asia’s world city 24 Putting the people before the brand 26 How to keep employees and influence people 29 Diversity blues—women on boards 30 Gender balancing act 32 Chinese employees see $$$ 34 Integrated payroll solutions

6

Overseas assignments on the up “International assignments have become more diverse to meet evolving business and global workforce needs...”

36 HR Technology 36 Piecing together the HR puzzle

39 employee wellNESS 39 Motivation minefield 40 HR burnout 41 Top tips towards work focus 42 Transnational employee insurance

44 HR Training 44 Fostering innovation in complex organisations

46 HR COMMUNITY 46 People in Energy East—HR and Talent 49 Enneagrams—success in HR and life 50 HR Conference: graduate recruitment

55 HR legal 55 Moving staff to the UK

56 HR CLASSIFIEDS 64 HR BOOKS

2 • HR MAGAZINE

36

Piecing together the HR puzzle How technology is becoming the enabler of collaboration

CONTENTS

HR punks potential candidates “The mock-up exercise placed candidates in what they thought was a life-or-death situation...”

HR burnout

40

18

Mass exodus from Hong Kong Why are a third of HK professionals prepared to find work elsewhere?

People in Energy East—HR and Talent Roundup of Management Summit for the Oil and Energy Industry in APAC and the Middle East

46

22

Diversity data dissapoints HR not doing enough to attract women on boards

HR Conference: graduate recruitment

29

50

SUMMER 2013 • 3

• HR NEWS

HR NEWS 60% of salaries up 4.8% Almost 60% of Hong Kong workers have

property management professionals

opportunities are available—27%. There is

been offered a pay rise in 2013, according

are required to oversee various building

strong confirmation that, as we enter the

to the jobsDB Job Seeker Salary Report

facilities. Meanwhile, the Government is

peak season for recruitment, the hiring

2013—an online survey of 2,960 Hong Kong

planning to introduce a licensing policy

intention remains positive with the number

employees. The average rate, however, is

for this industry and employers are on

of vacancies posted on jobsDB having

4.8% which is a drop of almost one percent

the lookout for talents with hands-on

reached 50,000—representing a 25%

from last year indicating some caution in

experience. The next largest pay increase

increase since Chinese New Year.

employers’ pay strategies.

was in the marketing/PR sector where an average rise of 6% is expected, reflecting

Communication key

been increased from 0.5 of a month’s pay to

In terms of bonuses the average amount has

that businesses are willing to invest in

Yiu reminded employers of people’s

0.8 of the same. Justin Yiu, General Manager,

attracting new customers. Yiu added, “With

tendency to change jobs following bonus

jobsDB Hong Kong commented, “This

the advancement in internet technology,

payouts and offered the following advice

slight growth indicates that overall business

the demand for digital marketing

to avoid turnover as far as possible,

performance was not affected significantly last

professionals is particularly high.”

“Management should communicate with their subordinates to understand their

year despite economic uncertainties. Strong domestic demand has provided concrete

Workers’ gripes

work condition and career goals and offer

support to the economy as a whole.”

Among those who changed jobs last year,

guidance as needed. This is a good way to

nearly 60% claim that they have got a

show the company’s care to employees.”

High-growth sectors

better job, indicating good opportunities

Of the 18 business sectors surveyed,

for change seekers. Findings over the

should take the following measures:

As for retention he suggested employers

the property/real estate sector reports

past five years reveal that the reasons for

•

the highest base pay increase at 6.4%

workers seeking a move are: dissatisfaction

which seems to be due to the significant

with current salary/benefits—56%,

•

Offer a structured career path

expansion of the role of property

slim prospects of advancement—38%,

•

Build a good employer brand and

practitioners in recent years. In addition

discontentment with company

to property security and maintenance,

culture—30% and the knowledge that better

Establish competitive compensation and benefit packages

work culture

HIT dockers reach settlement After a record-breaking 40-day strike and protests, hundreds of dockers employed

with the help of HIT. Approximately 80% of the dockers voted

by contractors of port operator Hong Kong

to accept the offer, despite unanimously

International Terminals (HIT) finally

voting against it two days prior to the

negotiated a 9.8% pay rise and improved

agreement—originally insisting on a

working conditions.

double-digit increase of around 20%.

The strike, which began at the Kwai Tsing

Commenting on the agreement, Organising

Container Terminals on 28 March, saw around

Security for the Union of Hong Kong

530 workers—representing around two-

Dockers Wong Yu Loy said, “For the last

thirds of the dockers HIT employed through

15 years employees have been exploited

contractors—join at its peak. The deadlock

in terms of their salary limitations and

was broken when four contractors—Everbest

working conditions so this agreement is

Port Services, Pui Kee Stevedore, Lem Wing

significant as it’s the first time they have

Transportation and Comcheung Human

had the opportunity to negotiate with

Resources—pledged to write the pay increase

contractors of HIT. Although this is only a

into staff contracts. They also agreed to

‘half cup full victory’ it is a good starting

improve working conditions, allowing dockers

point for further negotiations to improve

to stop work for meals and/or toilet breaks

the pay and rights of workers and we hope

whenever they wanted and to improve safety

to continue these discussions next year.”

4 • HR MAGAZINE

Striking dock workers protesting outside Li Ka-Shing’s headquarters, Cheung Kong Center, Central, Hong Kong

HR NEWS •

10 most attractive places to work— APAC continues to pull international talent When envisioning a life abroad and a successful career, an increasing number of students are now considering Asia Pacific as their destination of choice. This is due to its reputation for growth and an abundance of job opportunities—just do not ask them to commute.

APAC top 10 Over 4,300 students participated in a global study conducted by Universum to understand their preferences in pursuing an international career upon graduation.

Sydney, Hong Kong and Singapore are APAC’s leading cities and have been ranked fifth, eight and tenth, respectively, in the top 10 most attractive international cities to work in.

Australia and Japan came in at third and ninth position, respectively, in the top 10 most attractive countries for work.

Hong Kong, ranked eighth most attractive international city to work in

Despite Asia being the world’s largest growth market, the USA still attracts more students each year. Universum’s International Mobility

most fundamental criteria were found to be

Benchmark showed that when offered

finding a job or role aligned with their career

an attractive job, talents still consider

goals and identifying a location which is also

1.

United States

the United States the most attractive

inherently attractive to them.

2.

United Kingdom

3.

Australia

Family still anchors

4.

Canada

When asked how long students were willing

5.

Germany

Rise of urbanites

to commute for work, the average daily

6.

France

The most important feature contributing

time was 70 minutes with women being less

7.

Switzerland

to the attractiveness of a place to live in

willing to commute. Having the ability to

8.

Sweden

was the availability of job opportunities.

spend as much time as possible with family

9.

Japan

Respondents also considered culture,

or friends is still a top priority for these

10. Spain

entertainment and proximity to family and

soon-to-be graduates.

country with New York the most attractive international city in which to work.

friends as key considerations. Interestingly,

Joakim Ström, Managing Director—APAC,

Top 10 most attractive countries to work in:

Top 10 most attractive international cities to

good social welfare was the next most

Universum said, “While cities like New

important feature to job opportunities when

York and Hong Kong remain attractive for

considering China as an attractive country

international talent to relocate to for their

1.

New York

to work in.

careers, the woes of commuting in some

2.

London

of them can be frustrating. Employers

3.

San Francisco

Money talks

should remember that work/life balance is

4.

Paris

Without exception, students indicate

the number one career goal among these

5.

Sydney

that a higher salary would be the greatest

millennial talents, regardless of men or

6.

Berlin

motivator and having paid trips to their

women. Employers who don’t consider

7.

Stockholm

home country would further contribute to

creative or flexible approaches to address

8.

Hong Kong

the motivation to relocate. Relocation being

such concerns among their workforce would

9.

Los Angeles

a big decision to make in one’s career, the

only stand to lose in the long run.”

10. Singapore

work in:

SUMMER 2013 • 5

• HR NEWS

HR NEWS

Overseas assignments on the up Throughout 2013 70% of companies

Numbers may be on the up but the duration

of employers have no specific tools to

expect to increase short-term overseas

of long-term assignments is trending down

track and manage assignments, other than

assignments and 55% plan to increase

with the average length now standing at just

using basic tools such as Excel and Word.

long-term ones, following an increase in

under three years. Interestingly, the average

Furthermore, 63% of participants reported

both over the last two years reported by

age of long-term assignees is between 35

that they keep no statistics on turnover of

more than half of companies surveyed.

and 55 years but for short-term assignments

repatriated assignees. But even without

This is according to Mercer’s latest

age seems to be less of a differentiator.

statistics, 39% of participants reported that,

Worldwide International Assignments Policies

The pattern continues for multinational

generally, employees with international

and Practices Report. The host companies

companies to source most of their

experience were promoted more quickly.

where people expect the highest number

international assignees from the country in

Three in five companies globally have a

of assignments are: United States, Brazil,

which they are headquartered and assign

detailed cost-projection approach that

China, United Kingdom and Australia.

them to foreign subsidiaries. There has,

includes tax and social security costs, but

Mercer cites the top five reasons for

however, been an increase in the percentage

about five in nine employers do not track

international assignment programmes as:

of subsidiary company transfers, as opposed

projected against actual costs.

1.

To provide specific technical skills not

to HQ-to-subsidiary transfers, since 2010.

available locally

This evolution is most significant among

COE Leader commented on the results,

To provide career management/

European companies, with six in ten reporting

“International assignments have become

leadership development

an increase of this pattern of assignments,

more diverse to meet evolving business

3.

To ensure knowledge transfer

indicating the growing competencies of staff

and global workforce needs. HR directors

4.

To fulfil specific project needs

in other parts of the world.

now face great complexity in the number

5.

To provide specific managerial skills

2.

not available locally

6 • HR MAGAZINE

The impact on cost, long-term retention and resulting ROI is unknown since 65%

Phil Stanley, APAC Global Mobility

and type of international assignments that need managing.”

HR NEWS •

“Hong Kong’s managers would do well to rethink their retention and engagement tactics.”

The great escape Staff turnover highest in ten years Staff turnover in Hong Kong soared to 17%

the restaurant and catering industry

in 2012—a high not witnessed since 2003.

posted 34.9%. The Hong Kong average job

Figures for 2011, by comparison, showed

vacancy rate for 2013 was 4.4%. Sectors

an average turnover rate of 14.5%. Whilst

particularly hit were community, social

low unemployment figures were posted

and personal services, with 9.2%, and

for 2012, turnover and vacancy rates in the

retail, with 8.9%.

retail and restaurant/catering sectors were

Francis Mok, President, HKIHRM

alarming. This, according to the Quarterly

commented, “[Retail and restaurant

Survey on Manpower Statistics—Fourth

catering sectors] had to spend more time,

Quarter 2012 and Year 2012, conducted

money and effort in recruitment in order

by the Hong Kong Institute of Human

to maintain their service standards.”

Resources Management (HKIHRM).

With these figures in mind, Hong Kong’s

Within the retail sector, hiring

managers would do well to rethink their

managers saw turnover of 35.6%, whilst

retention and engagement tactics.

All shook up— Senior execs drive retail salary growth As international retailers in APAC turn

such B2C e-commerce sales globally. This

from rapid expansion in brick-and-

will mostly be driven by growth in China.

mortar locations to pursuing sustainable

According to a governmental report released

investment and profitability across the

by the China Internet Network Information

region, demand for a new breed of retail

Center, over 240 million people made an

leaders is driving up remuneration by 20%

online purchase in China in 2012.

or more, warns headhunter firm CTPartners.

Tim Boerkoel, Global Head of Consumer

The six most sought-after qualities in

& Retail Practice, CTPartners commented,

senior executives:

“This is especially evident in Asia’s luxury

1.

Keen financial acumen

retail sector, where many Western brands

2.

Digital aptitude—social media, e-commerce, multi-channel sales

sought to quickly expand into the region over the last five to ten years. But the

3.

APAC multi-market expertise

onslaught of mobile commerce, increasing

4.

Ability to lead through

competition and soaring retail property

transformative change

costs mean that today’s retail leadership

5.

Supply chain management know-how

focus has shifted to enhancing regional

6.

Ability to be a good brand ambassador

profitability more than rapidly opening new stores. Thanks in part to the impact of social

Sarah Lim, Partner at the Retail & Consumer

media and e-commerce, retailers are also

Practice at CTPartners commented, “Some

looking for executives with a deeper, wider

companies are even turning to hiring from

toolbox of skills that also include both brand

outside their own industries, in order to

and consumer marketing skills.”

sidestep the talent shortage for experienced

In 2012, B2C e-commerce sales in APAC

“Some companies are even turning to hiring from outside their own industries, in order to sidestep the talent shortage for experienced leaders and managers with these qualities...”

leaders and managers with these qualities—

observed, “E-commerce and multi-channel

grew more than 33% to USD 332.46 billion,

Ralph Lauren’s President for Asia Pacific

expertise are perhaps the most highly

estimates eMarketer, with Asia surpassing

came from the gourmet and speciality foods

sought-after leadership skills in the retail

North America to become the world’s

sector. The current CEO of Levi Strauss was

industry today. Such digitally savvy leaders

number one market for such sales. This

brought in from Procter & Gamble.”

tend to be younger and in the consumer

year, the region will see sales increase by

Lim asserted that retailers in Asia

services, media and mobile communications

more than 30% to over USD 433 billion—

will increasingly promote younger retail

sectors. This drives the cross-industry

accounting for more than one-third of all

executives into leadership positions. She

executive searches.”

SUMMER 2013 • 7

• HR NEWS

HR NEWS Four steps to a ‘good’ day at work

engage ev opportunities

It is often argued—with good reason— that

them to be more productive. Everyone

Key to the health and long-term success of

a happy workforce is a productive one. The

wants to work with a motivating, supportive

an organisation is motivating and engaging

secret to such office-based contentment

manager and not having one may be one of

employees, ensuring they are productive,

may be only four simple steps away

the reasons that employees leave a job.

fulfilled and committed. Employee

according to new research conducted

Volunteering (EV) is one of the most cost-

among more than 3,000 Australian and

Desire number three: More time with

effective ways of engaging and motivating

New Zealand employees. When RedBalloon

friends and family

employees. At the same time it provides an

for Corporate asked participants what they

With an abundance of laptops, iPhones

opportunity for organisations to give back

desired to see at work, ‘more praise’, ‘better

and Blackberries to hand, it can be difficult

to the community. EV initiatives provide a

managers’, ‘more time with friends and

to ‘switch off’ from work nowadays. The

great platform for employee engagement,

family’ and ‘greater trust’ emerged as the

boundaries between work and non-work

team-building, personal development

biggest factors and here is why:

time become blurred and employers need

and skills training and boosts the positive

to recognise that this is the case. Business

reputation and standing of companies in the

Desire number one: More praise

owners have a responsibility to protect

community.

One in five employees does not receive any

people against burnout, and more time with

praise at all or, at best, once per year. They

friends and family plays a vital role in this.

Programme, part of an international

want their managers to praise them more

As the saying goes, ‘work hard, play hard’.

campaign developed by Community

often, and more specifically. Although some

The ENGAGE Journey of Opportunity

Business, is a six-month mentoring

bosses argue that employees only work for

Desire number four: Greater trust

programme comprising various activities

money, there is in fact far more than money

There is a lot to be said for treating people

specifically designed to make a positive

involved; staff feel greater motivation when

like grown-ups and trust should be a given—

impact on the lives of aspiring young people

their efforts are noticed.

not something that is earned. You trust that

from some of the poorest areas of Hong

you have been given a role to do your best,

Kong with a focus on helping them build life

Desire number two: Better managers

and your boss trusts that he/she has chosen

and career skills.

More than half of the employees surveyed

the best person for the role. This ought to

Mentors taking part can gain an

would leave a role because of their direct

happen right from the outset because it is

understanding of local Hong Kong

manager, and two thirds are convinced that

empowering for both parties to start from a

communities and the daily challenges

their managers do not know what motivates

place of trust.

that its young people face whilst practising and developing leadership, listening, communication, teamwork and interpersonal skills. The experience can allow them to grow new and meaningful relationships with their colleagues, other mentors and mentees. Being involved in such a scheme can help them to increase their level of motivation, engagement and sense of responsibility for their local community and further their sense of pride in their organisation.

Another initiative, the Skills for Success— Social Enterprises Workshop Series, in partnership with British Council, invites executives from companies in Hong Kong to share their business expertise through experiential learning to help social entrepreneurs building their financial acumen, sales and marketing techniques, among other skills.

8 • HR MAGAZINE

HR NEWS •

HK Lags behind APAC in financial services jobs

LOW RISK RECRUITS IN SINGAPORE & HK

The number of financial services job

Singapore and Hong Kong rank as two of the

opportunities in Hong Kong experienced a

lowest risk cities in Asia Pacific to recruit,

24% decrease in Q1 of 2013 compared to Q1

employ and redeploy talent—according to

of 2012 according to the latest quarterly Job

the latest findings from Aon Hewitt. Their

Barometer from eFinancialCareers. George

position as APAC’s lowest risk cities can be

McFerran, Managing Director, Asia Pacific,

attributed to strong government support

eFinancialCareers commented, “As we have

and transparency. High income levels have

witnessed recently, Hong Kong’s financial

allowed these cities to invest in education

industry is not immune to job losses. While

infrastructure and talent development

it is unlikely that 2013 will be a bumper year

facilities. This in turn has increased the

for recruitment in Asian financial services,

availability of qualified talent.

we do expect a gentle and sustainable recovery in job opportunities compared with

Singapore talent strengthens

last year.”

APAC retained two cities in the top ten

The overall APAC region experienced a

lowest risk cities globally: Singapore and

similar decline (-20%) over the period, with

Hong Kong. Singapore ranks second in the

Singapore and Australia recording decreases

world, behind New York, for recruiting,

of -13% and -34% respectively.

employing and redeploying employees.

McFerran added, “Looking forward,

The People Risk Index in 2013 sees Singapore

we expect the job market will be more

move to second place globally due to strong

buoyant in insurance, retail, corporate

government policies and world class talent

and transaction banking, where revenues

development facilities leading to a pool of

will be more stable and retail banks will

qualified and experienced talent.

continue to expand to meet client needs in Asia. In the middle office, we see no end in

Welcome Perth

sight to the demand for regulatory and risk

A newcomer to the Index for APAC—Perth,

professionals, while back office roles, in

Australia—is now a key city as the mining

particular low-level operational ones, will

boom has fuelled economic growth and

still face the threat of being offshored to

investment inflows. Perth ranks among

lower-cost locations.”

the ten lowest risk cities in APAC as a result

Compliance, risk management and retail banking were the top performing sectors

of an increase in the size of the workforce, owing to the mining industry.

in Asia Pacific, with quarter-on-quarter growth in job postings of 54%, 29% and

APAC risk divided

25%, respectively.

Lowest risk

Highest risk

businesses during a period of continued

Singapore

Chongqing

instability in global markets, they are

Hong Kong

Jaipur

finding themselves in particular need of risk

Melbourne Colombo

management talent to manage and mitigate

Sydney

Hanoi

operations and assess credit and market

Perth

Almaty

risk. As risk professionals are well rewarded

Taipei

Ulaanbaatar

in their current roles and reluctant to

Auckland

Phnom Penh

change jobs, recruitment into this function

Tokyo

Dhaka

could be challenging. As a result, risk is one

Osaka

Karachi

sector where banks in Asia will consider

Seoul

Port Moresby

As banks look to expand their Asian

recruiting internationally if they face a local talent shortage.

SUMMER 2013 • 9

• HR NEWS

HR NEWS HR needs flexibility as offices squeezed Current proposals for development of office space in CBD, Kowloon East and elsewhere in Hong Kong will not be sufficient to meet space demands in the next seven years.

This, according to the latest Hong Kong Office Market Report by Knight Frank.

Assuming a rate of growth of 3% for the economy and 2.2% employment growth, as seen in recent years since the economic slow down, Hong Kong companies will be facing a shortage of office space equal to the capacity of four Two IFCs. If the local economy expands at the Compound Annual Growth rate of 4% and employment grows to 2.7%, the equivalent of up to eight Two IFCs will be needed to meet demand for space.

What does this mean for HR? If Hong Kong will be needing between 16.9 and 21.2 million sq-ft of office space by 2020, and current plans are only set to provide up to an extra 14 million sq ft, the possibility for expansion will be greatly affected. Rather than resting on their laurels and waiting for the big squeeze, some businesses are already taking a step towards flexible working arrangements, challenging the tradition of fixed work times and set work spaces. As HR Magazine has previously reported, forward-thinking companies such as Bloomberg, HKBN and the Lane Crawford Joyce company have already taken steps towards making better use of their office space, more flexible allocation of work hours and more creative methods of getting work done.

10 • HR MAGAZINE

HR NEWS •

Engagement strategies wrong

Identity thieves

Recent research in the field of neuroscience

Confidential information such as names,

• Hong Kong Chinese reported

suggests that HR should fine-tune employee

Autonomy as a threatening leadership

addresses, bank account details, and

engagement solutions to adapt to cultural

attribute. A majority of Hong Kong

social security numbers of staff could be

preferences. The leadership study from

Chinese prefer their superiors to be

falling straight into the hands of identity

Middlesex University considered the role

directive while westerners desire

fraudsters, according to a new survey based

of culture on motivation in both work and

the opposite. It seems Hong Kong

in Australia. The Disposal Habits Study found

training settings. According to the alphaeight

Chinese might have a preference for

that 11% of rubbish bins in the Sydney

institute this showed that Hong Kong Chinese

directive leadership because of their

metropolitan area contained personal data

and westerners living in Hong Kong may have

high respect for authority and their

readily accessible to passersby.

different ways of drawing motivation from a

willingness to avoid losing face in case

variety of known elements.

something goes wrong; and

Numerous scientific findings have provided a sound understanding of the behaviours that

Of the more than 80 businesses surveyed, workers at banks and lawyers’ and doctors’ offices were the guiltiest

• during a delegation process, Fairness

culprits when it came to casually

activate the brain’s reward system and thus

is reported as neutral to westerners

discarding confidential information.

drive human motivation. A neuroscientist

yet highly motivating to Hong

Among the findings was solicitor

named Rock has been prevalent in this

Kong Chinese. Twenty percent of

documentation regarding a legal

field and had claimed in his 2008 study that

westerners reported never having

settlement for a real estate dispute, which

boosting any of the dimensions: Status,

experienced any unfair behaviour

detailed the parties involved, the amount

Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness and

at work while several Hong Kong

of the settlement and the bank account

Fairness—collectively known as SCARF— is

Chinese stated that unfairness is

information of the account receiving the

a source of reward for the brain and thus of

usual and actually omnipresent.

settlement. Results of blood tests from

motivation. The objective of this particular

a lab were also found in the waste bins

exercise was to determine whether there are

The findings are of little surprise when

outside a doctor’s office; these included

any cultural differences between Hong Kong

it is considered that Western culture

patients’ names, addresses, social security

Chinese and Westerners living in Hong Kong

emphasises personal achievements and

numbers and diagnostic information.

in the perception of the degree of motivation

individualism. HR can take from them

Such a breach of data not only violates

derived from these SCARF elements.

that a high proportion of westerners

doctor/patient privilege and the patients’

Although a number of factors were found to

assert to find motivation when their

rights under the law, but also provides

be motivating for both cultures across most

personal views are valued. The majority

information that could be used to commit

situations, the results did reveal a number

declare that they are motivated to work

medical identity theft.

of interesting discrepancies. Three of the

for an assertive and logical leader and

measured elements were found to be ‘neutral’

training professionals should deduce that

than AUD 1.4 billion due to personal fraud

or ‘threatening’ in certain situations:

these members of staff prefer workshops

crimes, reflecting a clear lack of awareness

run by a knowledgeable facilitator who

of the country’s data protection laws.

focuses on learning objectives.

However, despite the results of the study

• both cultures found Certainty to be threatening. In Hong Kong, where job

The majority of Hong Kong Chinese

In 2010 and 2011 Australians lost more

commissioned by the National Association

stability is not valued due to the high

on the other hand declare motivation

for Information Destruction-ANZ

employment rate, Hong Kong Chinese

when carrying out work that is allocated

(NAID-ANZ) to demonstrate the need for

people see changing jobs as a norm,

according to their abilities while being

improvement in Sydney, the overall results

perhaps because of Confucianism values

recognised as good team players. It should

are better than similar surveys conducted

while westerners in Hong Kong are being

be noted that most of them wish to work

in other cities. In the same study conducted

adventurous in choosing to see a job

for a caring and friendly leader and like

for Toronto, Canada, Madrid and London,

change as an opportunity;

training workshops that are fun.

for example, more than 40% of commercial refuse bins contained confidential information from the same cross-section of organisations.

“HR can take from them that a high proportion of westerners assert to find motivation when their personal views are valued.”

SUMMER 2013 • 11

• HR NEWS

HR NEWS LinkedIn homes in on passive hires Enhancements to Recruiter—LinkedIn’s

related activities, such as which jobs have

consumerisation of the enterprise has begun

talent solution software for recruitment

received recent applications and which

to infiltrate the recruiting industry and is

professionals—include a new ‘People You

projects still require more talent leads.

influencing a new generation of products.”

May Want to Hire’ function. The addition

Such modifications have been introduced to

has been based on findings that 60% of

maximise efficiency of the sourcing process.

professionals are open to job opportunities

A new LinkedIn Recruiter homepage

One of the key redesigned components is the new navigation bar. The ‘Notifications’ feature, accessible via the flag icon located at

but not actively looking for them. Candidate

has been created to present the new

the top right hand corner of the homepage,

suggestions are based on prior recruiter

functionality. The redesign prioritises the

alerts the recruiter to urgent items, such

activity including past searches, recent hires,

features used most in an attempt to boost

as new applicants, hiring manager reviews

company description and even the likelihood

productivity of daily recruiting tasks. It now

and bulk resume uploads to make it easier to

of that person being interested in a particular

more closely resembles LinkedIn.com in

identify and prioritise important action items.

position. Unlike the standard versions of

both look and feel in order to make the user

the widely-adopted media platform, this

experience more intuitive and simplistic.

workflow efficiency by allowing the creation

corporate offering expands to give full profile

The design changes are based on the concept

of to-do items that connect with a profile,

access and allows contact through LinkedIn’s

of consumerisation, putting the users’

project or job simply by inputting the ‘@’

‘InMail’ messaging environment. The

priorities first, so that the software appears

symbol. Any unchecked to-dos will remain at

algorithm gets smarter with increased usage

as a consumer app at the front end, but has

the top of the list until completed.

and allows recruiters to focus their time and

the power and feature-rich functionality

The redesigned Recruiter homepage will

energy on engaging candidates, rather than

of an enterprise tool in the background.

be rolling out to English-speaking customers

looking for them in the first place.

LinkedIn Talent Solutions’ Head of Product,

imminently and non-English speaking

Parker Barrile, noted, “Fortunately, the

customers over the next few months.

Below this feature is an area focused on

HR not hitting the equality mark

HR Excellence Awards 2013

HR in Hong Kong is still failing to

The Hong Kong Institute of Human

cultivate a culture of gender equality.

Resource Management (HKIHRM) recently

40% of Hong Kong employees believe

announced the launch of the HR Excellence

women make less money than men in

Awards 2013. Designed to recognise

similar roles—only 37% of employees in

organisations and individuals achieving

Malaysia believe the same.

business success through outstanding

The results of the Randstad Workmonitor

people strategies and practices, the Awards

Wave 1 2013, in which 400 Hong Kong

are in their second year. Following a great

employees participated, suggest that

response last year, organisations and

discrimination is still prevalent among

HR professionals in Hong Kong, Macau,

Hong Kong organisations. HR can see

mainland China and the Asia-Pacific region

from the report that, over 70% of the

are invited to participate.

time, employees say that there are more

Mr David Li, Vice-President, HKIHRM

male than female managers—but only

and Chairperson of the Awards Organising

63% feel that men are better suited to

Committee, said, “The Awards programme

lead a company.

not only works positively by demonstrating outstanding people management strategies and practices, but also helps to boost morale among HR teams in corporations.

The winning companies and individuals are highly and widely recognised.”

12 • HR MAGAZINE

A ‘Smart To-Do List’ helps improve

“HR in Hong Kong is still failing to cultivate a culture of gender equality.”

HR NEWS •

HAPPY APPY SHAKE: AN APP TO ENHANCE STAFF STAYING POWER Could the key to a happy and stable

on three different platforms: iOS, Android,

everybody is taken care of. That way,

workforce lie at the touch of a smartphone

and BlackBerry OS and utilises four main

they would be happy, which would

button? The XM Gravity Happiness App has

features each with a particular functionality

eventually lead to a great performance in

been designed to pump up the happiness

as shown:

their work,” he elucidated.

if that isn’t good enough news for HR the

Mood

directly linked to levels of happiness

app has boosted attractiveness ratings of

The mood part allows users to express their

and thus the chances of retaining staff

its developer company for want-to-be

feelings each day by choosing from the wide

and removing any avoidable issues

employees too.

range of mood selections provided.

serves as a type of hard checkup on

quotient and turn down the turnover. And

The mood function in particular is

A unique, in-house mobile application

everyone in the company. Employees

has been developed to promote staff

News & Announcements

who consistently log in with negative

happiness. It stems from Indonesia—one of

This section brings the company’s news,

emotions would be approached for a

the world’s hottest social media markets—

updates and announcements right into the

heart-to-heart with their supervisors

boasting the 4th largest Facebook nation

palms of users’ hands.

aimed at resolving whatever issue is

and Jakarta as the most actively twittering

weighing them down.

city in the world. Aiming to leverage this

Tasks

phenomenon to achieve company goals,

This feature is dedicated to assisting clients

serving their own specific purpose,

XM Gravity has developed the XM Gravity

by supporting their ongoing campaigns.

also share the value of happiness

Happiness App and have begun testing on

Users would be able to re-tweet, ‘Like’, or

through promotion of family culture as

their very own employee base.

share key posts on the brands’ social media

the ultimate goal. Mintaraga pointed

pages with the objective of becoming viral.

out that the content of the news and

The company has already proven the enormous power of social media when it

The other features of the app, although

announcements section would largely be

comes to promotion in the online sphere—

Contact

about matters related to individuals in

XM Gravity’s Harlem Shake video garnered

A contact page contains the list of each

the company; from professionally-based

more than 150,000 views within two weeks

person’s phone number and e-mail

updates— such as who has been promoted,

and drove 300 people to apply for jobs on

address, and in recognition of the prevailing

to more personal news— such as who is

the company’s website. Kevin Mintaraga,

dominance of existing social media the app

getting married. He believes that being

XM Gravity’s CEO commented, “All it took

provides links to employees’ Facebook and

able to know what is going on in the lives

was everyone in the office tweeting the link

Twitter accounts.

of others is not only what makes reading

to our Harlem Shake video.”

To encourage usage of the app in client

the news section appealing to employees, Since establishing XM Gravity, one of

but also what keeps the family bond

companies, the incentive for active users

Mintaraga’s primary goals has been to

together. Mintaraga reasoned, “Happy

would be points as rewards with chances to

promote a family culture among staff.

staff who feel connected, and cared for,

win coveted prizes every month. It operates

“Family means everybody is heard and

are committed staff who give their best.”

“Happy staff who feel connected, and cared for, are committed staff who give their best.”

SUMMER 2013 • 13

• HR EVENTS

! y r a i d R H r u o y r o Dates f May 28 (Tue)

May 20–July 29

• July 18 (Thu)

Who: The American Chamber of

Who: The Hong Kong

Who: HR Magazine

Commerce in Hong Kong What: Half-day workshop:

Management Association What: Certificate courses on

Powerful leadership tools

personnel administration

that rapidly transform your

& operations, certificate

strategies into sustainable

courses on employment

winning outcomes

ordinance

Where: Hong Kong

Where: Hong Kong

Fees: Member HKD 300

Details: hkma@hkma.org.hk

Non-member HKD 400 Details: kalau@amcham.org.hk

May 29 (Wed)

What: HR Magazine Conference—Managing difficult employees Where: Cliftons Central Facitility Level 33, 9 Queen’s Road, Central, Hong Kong Fees: FREE admission for all individual and corporate

June 5 (Wed)

subscribers to HR Magazine Half day HKD 800 Whole day HKD 1,200

Who: Centre for Family

Details: hrmagazine.com.hk

Business Who: The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong What: Helping managers enagage employees in complex organisations

What: Workshop on branding strategies in Chinese family

• October 24 (Thu)

enterprises Where: CUHK MBA Town Centre, 1/F, Bank of America

Who: HR Magazine What: HR Magazine

Where: Hong Kong

Tower, 12 Harcourt Road,

Conference—Attracting the

Fees: Member HKD 1,550

Central, Hong Kong

best global leaders: executive

Non-member HKD 1,800

Fees: HKD 450

Corporate Table (10-12pax)

Details: hrmagazine.com.hk

May 30 (Thu) Who: The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong What: How Chinese consumers think and what will they buy

branding Where: Cliftons Central

HKD 20,000 Details: kalau@amcham.org.hk

recruitment & employer

Facitility

June 25 (Tue)

Level 33, 9 Queen’s Road,

Who: Lominger Korn Ferry

Fees: FREE admission for all

Leadership Talent and

individual and corporate

Central, Hong Kong

Management

subscribers to HR Magazine

What: Leadership Architect 101

Half day HKD 800

Fees: USD 2050

Whole day HKD 1,200

Details: lominger.com

Details: hrmagazine.com.hk

June 29 (Sat)

November 26 (Tue)

Who: The American Chamber of

Who: Hong Kong Institute

next?

Where: Hong Kong Details: kalau@amcham.org.hk

May 31 (Fri)

Commerce in Hong Kong What: AmCham Independence

Who: The American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong What: Who are today’s cyber

Day luncheon Where: Hong Kong Fees: HKD 550 Adult / Child (age

of Human Resources Management What: HKIHRM 33rd Annual Conference & Exhibition Where: Hong Kong Convention

criminals and what do they

3–11) HKD 350 / (age 11–17)

& Exhibition Centre (HKCEC)

want from you?

HKD 490 / Children under 3

1 Expo Drive, Wanchai,

Where: Hong Kong Details: kalau@amcham.org.hk

14 • HR MAGAZINE

are free of charge Details: kalau@amcham.org.hk

Hong Kong Details: hkihrm-conference.org

81%

HR IN NUMBERS •

The number of years it would take for the quantity of women on boards to equal that of men, were the rate of increase to remain constant.

Source: Community Business, Standard Chartered Bank Women on Boards: Hang Seng Index 2013

39%

Percentage of employers that expect a professional skills shortage during 2013, up from 27% last year.

Source: Michael Page Salary & Employment Forecast, Hong Kong, 2013

45%

4.5%

17 The number of Greater China offices and the number of

Projected salary

years’ experience in recruitment for Bó Lè associates prior

increase, Hong Kong.

to its buy out by Recruit Holdings Co Ltd (Recruit), the world’s fifth largest HR service provider.

Source: Towers Watson 2013 Source: Robert Walters Asia Job Index Q1 2013

Salary Budget Planning Report

Percentage of employers that consider recognition and reward the most important attraction and retention strategy in 2013.

Source: Michael Page Salary & Employment Forecast, Hong Kong, 2013

100

Number of employers set to award a salary increase

19%

of between 15 and 25%.

Source: Michael Page Salary & Employment Forecast, Hong Kong, 2013

4.4%

21% The increase in job advertisements placed in Q1

Hong Kong inflation

across APAC. China reported nearly 24% rise in the

forecast, 2013.

The Global Institute For Tomorrow

overall number of job advertisements throughout

(GIFT) is out to prove that there is

the same period.

more to working life than money with

Source: APAC and Economic Source: Robert Walters Asia Job Index Q1 2013

Intelligence Unit

the launch of The Other Hundred, an initiative which aims to capture in pictures the lives of those who will never make the Forbes 100 or Bloomberg Billionaires rich lists, but continue to lead lives of dignity, fulfilment and achievement.

9.8%

36%

The wage increase

The amount of M&A activity, which totaled USD 2.6

finally accepted by

trillion in 2012, due to cross-border deals between

port workers at Li Ka

Hong Kong and China.

Shing’s Hongkong International

Source: Thomson Reuters—Mergers and Acquisitions Review, 2012

Terminals Limited— ending the longest ever strike at the container terminal.

SUMMER 2013 • 15

HR FEATURES

Employer branding gets branded: Randstad Award 2013 Itchy feet are common to careerenthused workers and the amenable Hong Kong labour market more often than not can satisfy their urge.

Employers likewise are kept on their toes in finding ways to drive or protect competitive edge. How then can they tempt top talent and keep their own very firmly on home ground? Some suggest the only answer is strong employer branding.

So what constitutes the employer brand and should it differ from that presented to the consumer?

16 • HR MAGAZINE

The inaugural Randstad Award Hong Kong was launched at a glamorous gala-style affair at Central Pier 7’s Watermark restaurant on 17 April. First conducted in 1999 in Belgium, the award now takes place in 18 countries, becoming the world’s largest employer branding study. The Hong Kong-based research, independently carried out by ICMA Group, discovered the employment-related views of more than 4,000 Hong Kong people of working age. The study found that of the 75 largest commercial employers by workforce size, MTR Corporation was rated ‘The Most Attractive Employer’.

HR FEATURES

Opposite: Vincent Luk, General Manager of Human Resources, MTR

According to Randstad the top talent

power through the ability to connect

selected job security within their top five

challenges in Hong Kong are attracting

and create change. The only sustainable

most important factors, followed by salary

talent for the next phase of growth,

competitive advantage is knowledge of

and pleasant working atmosphere, good

increasing workforce productivity

the customer base achievable through

work-life balance and career progression.

and performance and retention of top

continued understanding and engagement.

"Interestingly, Hong Kong was the only

performers. Brien Keegan, Director,

According to Reynolds the employee and

place in Asia where employees most

Randstad Hong Kong commented, “With

even the candidate demand and deserve

frequently put long-term job security

pockets of critical skills shortages, a rapidly

sophistication in the same way. Her motto

ahead of salary as the prime reason for

ageing population and the need to drive

‘work sucks’ expresses the sentiments of a

joining a particular company,” said Keegan.

greater workforce productivity, employer

generation placed in an environment with

“Employers need to take heed of this

branding is critical to the attraction,

little resemblance to the outer world. Since

when looking to recruit, as the commonly

engagement and retention of top market

power and knowledge are now in the hands of

held belief that employees, in Hong Kong

talent in Hong Kong.”

the masses—there is no longer a monologue

at least, are just interested in money has

from management to staff, or marketing

proven untrue."

Randstad Award: Hong Kong winners’

to consumer, she contended; instead,

showcase

a multi-way discourse must take place.

preferring companies that offer career

Huge advertising budgets mean very little

opportunities, quality products and services,

compared to the opinions of the consumer.

good training and strong management

2013 Winner MTR Corporation

During a meal break Reynolds left the

Other interesting findings included men

where women search more for accessibility

audience to consider how they would rate

and a pleasant working atmosphere when

2013 Runner-up

the customer, candidate and employer

choosing a specific company. A pleasant

SWIRE PROPERTIES

experience of their organisation in a trip-

working atmosphere is more often linked

advisor style format, since, she insisted,

with recognition and team spirit by job

2013 Second runner-up

these are intricately linked. Her purpose—to

seekers than it is by an active workforce

CLP

alarm HR once they appreciate that brand

who are more likely to value open and

reputation is deeply affected by consumer

honest communications and a sense of

Banking & Finance sector

and worker experience. Research has proven

shared commitment. In turn, recognition

Hang Seng Bank

that 64% of customers will who have a bad

and shared commitment were found to

experience will never buy a product again.

be more important to employees in the

Best Workplace Culture

The quality of experience make or break

profit than the non-profit sector where fun

Hong Kong Disneyland

brand loyalty.

activites are rated more highly.

It becomes clear that the employer brand

In terms of retention, long-term job

Best CSR

promotes the message of a company’s

security and financial health are the main

The Hong Kong Jockey Club

offer as an employer of choice, fostering

reasons to stay with a current employer,

loyalty and helping to build an emotional

found to be particularly true in the case

HR—the new marketing?

connection with potential and existing

of older, lower educated women and

The guest speaker was Emma Reynolds, Co-

employees. This in turn results in higher

older, lower educated men respectively.

founder and CEO, e3 Reloaded who offered a

levels of engagement and facilitates the

Overall, potential employees would

Gen-Y take on recruitment and engagement

attraction and retention of the best talent

change their employer more because of

activities and advocated bringing what she

around. Strong employer branding, a good

lacking compensation—especially true in

considers archaic attitudes and processes

reputation and a highly engaged workforce

the 18-39 age bracket, insufficient career

into the 21st century. Asking the audience

delivers competitive advantage, superior

opportunities—especially in younger,

of HR award-hopefuls who had applied for

financial results and sustainable growth.

higher educated people and unreasonable

jobs 20 years ago and how much the process

work-life balance—especially in younger,

had changed since then, the audience

Food for thought

higher educated men, curiously. When

concurred—very little. Yet, technology

The survey results reveal in-depth insights

comparing office workers with managers,

now makes so much more possible, she

into the most important factors influencing

office workers would change their current

continued, and has done so in so many other

jobseeker decisions today and allow Hong

employer more because of lacking

aspects of daily life.

Kong’s largest employers to benchmark

compensation and career opportunities,

themselves against competitors.

whereas lacking work-life balance is more

Today, Reynolds asserted, we are all marketeers. The consumer has immense

Well over half the potential employees

principal to managers.

SUMMER 2013 • 17

Cover story

HR punks potential candidates Extreme recruitment innovation

With HR having to fish in increasingly small pools for talent it takes extreme measures to reel in a top catch.

The future looks bright for the Hong Kong

sign of this slowing in the year ahead. The

economy—despite the challenging global

Survey predicts that export and import-

market conditions of the past year, key

related hiring will rise this year, due to

industries saw modest growth, pointing to

increased demand from the US and China,

signs of recovery in 2013. With increased

and this is likely to generate more demand

hiring predicted for the second half of the

for candidates from sales, merchandise and

year, attracting and retaining top talent is

supply chain, trade finance and accounting

now topping the priority list for employers.

backgrounds. Meanwhile, retail and tourism

However, with a shrinking talent pool and

will continue to grow in 2013 with a boost

zero salary increase already set for 2013 by

from visitors from mainland China, as a

many employers, how do they plan to entice

result of the 7% rise in minimum wage in

highly sought-after candidates. Then, even

Hong Kong, which will increase domestic

if they hook them, what price is it going to

consumer spending. Confidence among

take to succesfully reel them in?

the region’s business leaders also appears

HR Magazine caught up with Matthew

to be on the rise, according to the Talent2

Bennett, Managing Director for Greater

APAC Market Pulse 3 Study, with more than

China of Robert Walters and Caleb Baker,

half of the respondents from Greater

Managing Director, RPO & Managed Services

China—68%—forecasting economic growth

Asia Pacific of Talent2 to find out what the

in the next twelve months.

future holds for hiring in Hong Kong.

With all these positive signs in mind, it comes as no surprise that attracting

18 • HR MAGAZINE

Research points to recovery

and retaining staff is the key focus for

With the latest research from Robert

companies in the year ahead. However, with

Walters and Talent2 suggesting optimistic

already tight talent pools and no sign of

outlooks and signs of increased economic

salaries rising in the coming months, what

activity in the coming months, it appears

lengths will organisations go to in order to

that the job market might be picking up

catch the best talent, and does this open

throughout 2013. According to the Robert

a window of opportunity for candidates

Walters Global Salary Survey 2013, numerous

to demand over-market rates and more

IT, infrastructure and construction projects

attractive C&B packages? Bennett, shed

implemented during 2012 led to job creation

some light on the issue, “There is no doubt

and the company’s research shows no

about it, companies will continue to invest

Cover story

“The mismatch between the growing demand for talent from an increasingly shrinking talent pool has also led many organisations within the region to turn to contract workers...”

in talent in 2013 and attracting and retaining

talent pool and therefore have the ability

expect to increase their workforce to support

talent will be a key challenge for them in the

to ask for a 10 to 20% rise in salary when

this growth and 5% predict a decrease.

coming months. However, when looking for

switching to a new organisation.”

This discrepancy has led organisations to

new opportunities, talent will seek stability,

Bennett also pointed out that the

rethink their talent and people strategies

a clear career path and a company with

mismatch between supply and demand

across the region and, according to Baker, as

projected growth, therefore employers will

meant that the only way for staff to

many as 39% of senior managers in Greater

also need to review their talent retention

gain salary increases from within

China plan on turning to contractors to help

strategies, or offer competitive packages to

existing organisations is to take on more

accommodate growth.

keep their best talent.”

responsibility in their roles. He said that

This option does not come without

with retention being such a crucial focus

its challenges. Despite being perceived

Supply and demand mismatch

for firms in the current economic climate,

as offering several key benefits, such

Keeping employees happy is one thing, but

HR is becoming more involved from a C&B

as overcoming the local skills shortage,

how can organisations attract the best in

point of view in terms of having these

increasing workforce flexibility, scalability

the first place? Bennett explained that the

conversations with employees before they

to support economic conditions and

increasing demand for top talent could put

decide to resign. He explained, “To avoid

greater ease for senior managers to gain

pressure on employers to pay above-market

the risk of failure, companies have mastered

approval for increased headcount, there

rate for a diminishing pool of candidates in

the delicate balance between cutting costs

is the matter of cost. Baker, explained,

specific areas of expertise, particularly those

to survive in the short-term and investing

“In addition to having no clear method

who are ‘seeking stability’ and reluctant

to expand in the long-term. Businesses

for measuring performance, the cost of

to leave their existing organisations. He

are streamlining themselves to retain and

hiring a contractor is also often greater

said, “In the current candidate-driven

develop staff and this is where HR plays an

than taking on board a permanent worker

marketplace, companies may need to adhere

important role.”

on a like-for-like basis. Australia is a

to the increased salary demands of talent

shining example of this, with contractors

in order to persuade them to move from

Tipping the scales

adding around 30% uplift on their salary to

one organisation to another, as the cost of

The mismatch between the growing demand

each secured contract. No such premium

an empty seat will take on an even greater

for talent from an increasingly shrinking

currently exists in Asia, however, so

meaning to ‘putting all of your eggs into one

talent pool has also led many organisations

without financial benefits there is little

basket’. This may put upward pressure on

within the region to turn to contract workers

incentive for contractors to enter the Hong

salaries in the region and will certainly put

in order to tip the scales. According to the

Kong market.”

pressure on an already tight candidate pool.

Talent2, despite the positive outlook of

Those candidates who are in the top 10% of

businesses in Greater China regarding future

incentives companies are having to think

what they do, for example, sit in a very small

economic growth, only 50% of these firms

of new ways to encourage international

Baker revealed that without such

SUMMER 2013 • 19

Cover story

talent into Asia. He observed, “The proposition to contractors will increasingly become more premium over permanent employment. Some companies are shifting their HR strategies to accommodate; using more contractors in Asia, building in more compensation and benefit packages in order to build a bigger talent pool of non-permanent staff. Financial services is leading the way with this trend in Hong Kong because knowledgeable workers are so highly sought-after.”

Punking job applicants Whether they are hiring talent from other organisations or countries, and whether this is on a permanent or contract basis there is now significant movement in HR srategies.

It appears that companies in Hong Kong are using several methods to reel in the best catch and fill empty seats. One such example is Heineken, who recently resorted to ‘punking’ job applicants in an extremely sucessful attempt to screen out the world’s best talent.

Not only did the strategy work in terms of reeling in perfectly qualified new hires, it also gained the organisation some pretty cool street cred in terms of employer branding.

Holding hands with your interviewer, reviving him as he proceeds to have what looks like a genuine heart attack and helping to rescue a stranded employee from the roof after a fire drill are not tasks usually undertaken at interview. For the 1,734 American applicants hoping to secure an intern position in Heineken’s event & sponsorship marketing department, however, this is exactly what was on the cards.

“The mock-up exercise, placed candidates in what they thought was a life-or-death situation...”

20 • HR MAGAZINE

Cover story

Realising that job interviews are

initiative when faced with a mock-up

quick-thinking and openness. As a result,

essentially the same—same standard

medical emergency. “Stay with us,” one

he secured himself the placement based

questions, same prepared answers—the

candidate reassured the interviewer as he

at Heineken’s Amsterdam HQ. His new

Dutch brewing company decided to do

lay on the floor, while another attempted to

job includes accompanying the UEFA

things somewhat differently and take a

revive him by holding his legs up in the air.

Champion’s League Trophy as it makes it

step outside the conventional recruitment

In the final ‘Fire Drill’ stage of the

way around the world, prior to arriving at

box, hoping to find a candidate truly able

interview, candidates were called upon

to display creativity, passion and wit under

by firemen to help out during a fire drill.

Commenting on his victory Guy said,

pressure. So just how did they manage this?

The mock-up exercise, placed candidates

“I didn’t know what was happening at the

The company invited the unknowing

Wembley for the Final on 25 May.

in what they thought was a life-or-death

job interview. First they take my hand and

shortlist of young hopefuls to Amsterdam

situation with an office worker about

I think ‘Hey, that’s friendly’, and then

to find out what they were really made of.

to jump from the roof of a high-rise

suddenly, the interviewer falls on the floor,

Heineken secretly filmed the candidates

office block. The fire brigade called upon

and the next thing I am outside the building

as they were put though a three-stage

assistance from bystanders to help hold

hearing the fire alarm! It was all quite crazy

interview process, forcing them to

the safety net at ground level to help catch

and unexpected. Having been selected, I

respond to extraordinary, punk-like

the falling worker. At the scene, many

am extremely excited to start this job and

scenarios. The three stages—Kick Off,

bystanders were seen to walk away without

experience the UEFA Champions League.”

Medical Assistance and Fire Drill—were

helping. The exercise was set up to see

designed to test the resourcefulness of

which of the potential job applicants would

Heineken, commented, “Congratulations to

the young job-seekers and see who was

be willing to help out in such a crisis.

Guy, he really demonstrated the qualities we

best suited for a job at Heineken’s HQ

The point being that such character traits,

Cyril Charzat, Global Brand Director at

value at Heineken—creativity, spontaneity

in Amsterdam based on their ability to

often difficult to pick up at the interview

and passion. With The Candidate, we want

respond spontaneously to each situation

phase or via traditional psychometric tests,

to encourage young adults to get out of

and show common sense, rationality and

were incredibly apparent in the perceived

their comfort zone and through innovation

the capacity to remain calm and in control

‘real crisis’ that Heineken had created.

of thought and skill they can experience

in difficult or uncomfortable situations.

success—as did Guy.” Employer branding brownie points

The Candidate comes at a time when

Holding hands, heart attacks

A behind-the-scenes video of the most

pranking or ‘punking’ the target consumer

& jumping of high rises

eligible interviewees, entitled The

has become a fascination of big brands

In the ‘Kick Off’stage interviewers held

Candidate, was later shown on an internal

across the globe, which adopt it as a powerful

potential candidates by the hand when

portal so that the Heineken marketing

marketing tactic. One such brand, Nivea,

leading them into the interview room.

community could vote. The winner was

recently launched a campaign in Germany

While some candidates felt odd, others gave

later announced in front of a crowd of

that subjected consumers to a ‘stress test’ by

some smart answers, “It made me feel...

thousands on the big screen at a football

convincing them that they were wanted by

comfortable,” one hopeful intern said when

match. The young man in question,

the police in the hope that they would become

asked about the experience.

by the name of Guy Luchting, beat his

so stressed that they would need the branded

In the ‘Medical Assistance’ stage the

competition for the role by remaining cool

deodorant. When it comes to revolutionising

interviewer pretended to be ill and fainted

and calm throughout the bizarre interview

the recruitment process, Heineken certainly

to test the candidate’s ability to use their

process and demonstrated compassion,

appear to be leading the way.

Watch ‘The Candidate’ interview process: www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5Ftu3NbivE

SUMMER 2013 • 21

HR FEATURES

Mass exodus from HK—Asia’s world city If so, why are a third of professionals prepared to find work overseas?

Hong Kong has pushed Shanghai off the top

seem to be lured by career development

spot as the preferred relocation destination

opportunities and also a better quality of

in Asia. But the grass is not always

life.” The most popular destination chosen

greener, over a third—35.6%—of the city’s

by Hong Kong residents is Singapore; a

professionals and managers are seeking to

decidedly less exotic choice when compared

leave Hong Kong, up from 29.4% last year.

to their mainland neighbours, although

This, according the 2013 MRIC Talent Report

a higher proportion are not interested in

drawn from a survey of over 5,000 working

relocating compared to the other regions.

professionals in Greater China. Although

Whilst they may not be wishing to leave

this is a leap for the city, when compared

the Asian business style, various points

to their counterparts elsewhere in Asia,

of dissatisfaction may be to blame for the

Hong Kong professionals are remarkably

desire to move elsewhere in the continent.

stable. Christine Raynaud commented,

The survey covered motivation factors in

“Hong Kong people are still the least mobile

each of the key cities in greater China and

of all professionals from the main cities

found that Hong Kong participants reported

canvassed.”

feeling dissatisfied with their current

The most popular relocation destination

situation. In particular, compensation

worldwide for mainland Chinese

is the issue most influencing the city’s

respondents is North America, with over

professionals’ motivation to change job,

half wishing to continue their career there.

also a priority in mainland China, Taiwan

Raynaud stated, “Only around a fifth of

and Singapore. Raynaud observed, “In these

mainland professionals hold a positive

more uncertain times, it tells a story of

outlook for the Greater China region this

the major commercial centres across Asia,

year compared to some 43% last year. That

where the cost of living housing, education,

bodes well for US and Western companies

healthcare and even retirement are focusing

wishing to attract China talent who

minds on cash over career.”

22 • HR MAGAZINE

HR FEATURES

Hong Kong workers rate job security

Respondents were asked to consider how

higher than their contemporaries in the

they rate their company’s culture, for Hong

other cities but, when it comes to other

Kong employees the most important aspects

motivators, needs and desires seem

are people, transparency of promotions and a

somewhat similar. Opportunity to take on

clear vision of the company’s future path. On

responsibility and challenges and to adopt

average, 41% rated their current leadership

a leadership position are both key for Asian

as good, a figure taken from junior-,

professionals to stay put.

middle- and senior-level employees. On the

Employees in the financial services sector

subject of leadership in the future, Raynaud

in Hong Kong report to be keen to change

remarked, “Leadership is an important

jobs this year, perhaps a sign of an increase

aspect of company culture in Asia. The new

in positivity in the industry, although a sign

generation of leaders must have more than

of dissatisfaction with their situation with

strong relationships and length of tenure to

their current employers.

command respect. They must also be able to

Interestingly, employees in Hong Kong

develop a business where talent can thrive

seem to be the most resistant to overtime,

in an environment that they perceive as fair

regular working hours being given high

and transparent and that will allow them to

importance by one in four for staying in a

fulfil their career and lifestyle goals.”

job. Over 40% also rate flexible working

The most important benefit to Hong Kong

patterns, though the city’s professionals

employees is healthcare, as stated by 71.6%

placed considerably less importance

of respondents, joint-second in importance

on work/life balance when compared

are retirement provisions and paid time off,

to other cities in the region. Only one

44.4%, suggesting that the city’s residents are

quarter compared to over a third last year

increasingly valuing the opportunity to pursue

responded that a better balance would help

their life outside of work while still remaining

to retain them.

cautious about what the future may hold.

SUMMER 2013 • 23

HR FEATURES

“We don’t have any retention schemes— we have our culture.”

ople e p Putting the before the brand HR Magazine caught up with Bernard Coulaty, VP HR, Pernod Ricard Asia to find out how they are attracting Asia’s fresh young graduates to join one of the most successful enterprises in the global drinks industry.

“Trust must be at the centre of the table.”

Spreading the word

The pick of the crop

At present, Pernod Ricard is the number one

To get the best of the best, following the

alcohol brand in Asia, France, South America

university roadshows, Pernod Ricard selects

and Europe. In Hong Kong, as in Thailand,

the top ten graduates from around Asia

Korea, the Philippines and across the world,

to join its ranks and then rotates them

it is ranked at number two. The challenge,

between countries and departments. Asians

according to Coulaty, is to achieve the same

studying outside of Asia are also sought

level of recognition for the brand as that of

after; the company sources future talent

the individual products. He commented,

from the top business schools in France,

“We have been running a scheme whereby

training them in Paris for two years and

we visit various universities and present

then bringing them back to Asia. These

to them. From this roadshow we have

talents have the added asset of French

received over 400 applications in Hong

language skills—something of a rarity.

Kong alone.” Coulaty professes that it goes

Coulaty explained that the company does

to show that when their name is put out

not have an official language; each country’s

there and the firm’s attraction policy—

offices have a high level of autonomy and

luxury, leadership and responsibility—is

business between countries is not limited to

shared, demand for positions is high. He

French and English.

added, “We are well aware that it is easy

24 • HR MAGAZINE

for the alcohol business to be seen as a

Leadership development

‘sin industry’ but we strive to be very

In the first 12 years of working with the

responsible. We have set competitions for

company, employees chosen as future

students to carry out case studies about

leaders will take part in three stages

avoiding misuse by young adults. We like

of leadership development: Mixers—

to sell—but not at any price.”

emerging talents, Shakers—middle

HR FEATURES

biased. Sales and operations positions tend to be filled by locals, as are HR posts, due to the importance of knowing the intricacies of local law. Finance, Marketing and the CEO are international. When team members relocate for the company they and their families are encouraged to take part in language lessons to acclimatise, which are both organised and funded by the organisation.

Bernard Coulaty, VP HR, Pernod Ricard Asia Working style Unsurprisingly, the real work at Pernod management and Blenders—key talents, in preparation for more responsibility at

communicated internationally.

Those making decisions must be trusted

Ricard tends to get done over a meal and a fine tipple—deals and relationships are

each progressive stage. Due to the level of

to bear in mind that Pernod Ricard remains

made in this way. Coulaty commented, “It’s

independence afforded to every outpost

a family company—and it wants to still be

true that it isn’t easy to balance work and

of the company, those in the leadership

around in 10, 20, 30 or more years’ time.

life; our employees need passion to cope

pipeline have the chance to make

“Being a family company is in our DNA,”

with the long hours and high involvement.”

decisions early on. Coulaty acknowledged

commented Coulaty. He continued, “Our

While the company provides access to

that while some would jump at this early

people are creative and innovative and

a plethora of applications and devices

opportunity, this would be a daunting

our French culture is compatible with the

to enable workers to connect to those

task for others. It is, however, sometimes

culture in Asia in that it is decentralised and

working in other countries, face-to-face

necessary to not just ‘apply the book’.

non top-down.” These reasons he credits

dealings are preferred. “It’s a qualitative

for the company’s increased recognition and

matter—you need to know the people. It is

Decentralisation

success in the region. Responsible practices

important to actually make visits, and not

With the company’s decentralisation—

are clearly communicated to prospective

just communicate over technology. You can

one of the brand’s key values along

candidates thinking of joining the team to

learn more about the business and your near

with conviviality, entrepreneurship and

assure them that profit is not the ‘be all and

and far colleagues in person, though it leads

simplicity—“Trust must be at the centre of

end all’. Coulaty remarked, “We don’t like

to long working hours,” he remarked.

the table,” shared Coulaty. Each decision is

performance for performance’s sake. Reach

the clear responsibility of one person and

goals—yes, but not by destroying people or

Retention policy

decisions are never taken by someone more

the environment.”

Despite the high expectations on

than two levels away—this is known as the

employees’ time, thanks to the proximity

‘Grandmother Rule’. Occasionally this can

Workforce identity

of management, the freedom to follow a

cause employees to become disgruntled

Worldwide, Pernod Ricard’s management

non-predetermined career path—whether

when they discover that their counterparts

is 35% local although the current top

that means moving upwards, sideways or

in other branches of the organisation are

regional managerial team is made up of

abroad—and few assessments, the company

earning a higher wage but Coulaty insists

French, Australian and British individuals.

has an impressively low attrition rate; a fact

that the local decision-making approach

To try and balance teams, the company

he puts down to the environment. On this

has served Pernod Ricard well, enabling

tries to ‘insert an expat’ for added

Coulaty simply stated, “We don’t have any

innovation at a local level which can then be

perspective where teams seem culturally

retention schemes—we have our culture.”

SUMMER 2013 • 25

HR FEATURES

How to keep employees and influence people “Are you listening? Or are you just waiting to speak?”

This was the hard-hitting opener to Community Business’ Building Partnerships—Skills for Success workshop from Fraser Murray, Talent Expert & Coach, Asia & UK, Rock the Boat Consulting. Along with Marlene Chan, Head, Human Resources, Bayer Group, Hong Kong, Murray shared advice on how to achieve quality communication through changing the way leaders are interacting with their employees.

Effective appraisals

time and place for a performance review

Murray outlined the major ways leaders

are important considerations, though

‘meeting’ with your employee and feel

can improve their leadership capabilities,

often under thought. He recommended to

like you got everything you wanted, you

he stressed that clarity of expectation is

consider the employee in order to find the

just need to know that you will both be

highly necessary, “Communicate what you

right time, of course when the employee

able to live with the decisions made. There

expect to be delivered. The days of annual

is on their way out of the door is not an

are gradients of agreement,” commented

appraisals are long gone. Review regularly,

optimal moment, but depending upon the

Murray, he continued, “If you want to

be it weekly or monthly.” He commented

individual, over breakfast, over a coffee,

influence people help them to imagine

that appraisals are delivered with positive

through email, face-to-face, over the

the future. Align them to the company’s

intent—they are not an opportunity for

phone, either of these may be more or

interests and values—even better if these

managers to get something off their

less appropriate, “There is no one way to

are aligned at the point of employment.”

chest, “Appraisals are only to learn and

do it.”

improve—the past has passed. Give specific

“You don’t need to walk away from a

Aligned values

examples—‘I didn’t like xxx’, ‘xxx offended

Communication considerations

Chan posed the questions, “What scope

me’.” He advised to follow the ‘SAID’ style

When it comes to delegation of tasks,

can you offer your staff for them to

for performance reviews.

Murray advised a personalised approach

succeed? How do you keep pace with

on a scale from ‘direction and clarity’ to

them so they have a long employability

‘coaching and support’, as each individual

with your organisation?” She stated that

employee will have a different approach and

as leaders you always must be preparing

different needs. “Make sure you’re clear on

for the next stage of development of your

what is being delegated—is it all of or part

employees. She added, “Can you feed their

of a project? Have you considered enough

personal aspirations? How can you link the

to know you’ve picked the right person to

employee lifecycle with the organisation

receive the responsibility? Is it a good time

lifecycle? How did you attract them?” It

for them? What time and resources will they

is important to identify what motivates

need? How involved will you be? Explain

your employees, be it power; to feel that

Murray also advised to commence a

why you’re giving them the responsibility

their opinion counts, recognition; for the

performance review with a question—how

so they don’t feel dumped upon,” he

positive feedback and praise, affiliation; the

do they feel their performance has been

advised. Setting out clear expectations from

opportunity to be part of something bigger

since the last review? And be sure to

the outset can help to avoid discord further

than themselves, or competence; to better

listen to the response. He noted that the

down the line.

themselves and/or others around them.

S—Standard—State what is the expected level of performance A—Action—Explain what was or wasn’t done or said I—Impact—Outline the impact the action had D—Do—Clarify what the individual should do more of/do less of/do differently

26 • HR MAGAZINE

HR FEATURES

SUMMER 2013 • 27

HR FEATURES

28 • HR MAGAZINE

SPECIAL FEATURE

Diversity blues—women on boards “Of a total of 77 new appointments made in 2012 just nine directorships were made to seven different women.”

Warren Buffet, in a recent essay for Fortune

China, Standard Chartered Bank alluded to

Magazine, pointed out that if companies

the diversity of flora and fauna in the natural

companies are failing to create workplace

could accomplish what they did with 50% of

world as key to sustainability of the natural

environments that enable women to rise

their human capacity—imagine what they

habitat and likened it to the need for a wide

through the organisation and take on board

could achieve if they utilised 100% of it.

array of mutually dependent businesses to

roles. Of a total of 77 new appointments

Even today there is a shocking lack of female

make a vibrant and successful commercial

made in 2012 just nine directorships were

representation in industries around the

world. By the same token, a diverse set

made to seven different women.

world. Despite emerging initiatives such as

of pertinent experience should represent

The Women’s Directorship Programme, the

each one effectively. Certainly, there is

than one woman on their board has actually

latest research from Community Business

strong indication that women on boards

been steadily declining; now at 28% when

reveals disappointing results regarding work

will encourage more open debates and a

in 2009 this number was almost 36%.

place diversity in Hong Kong. According

‘group-think’ phenomenon which is less

This data point is so significant because

to the Standard Chartered Bank Women on

likely to leave stones unturned. Moreover,

international research suggests that it is

Boards: Hang Seng Index 2013 Report, there

it is thought that as well as boards emitting

only once a critical mass of women in the

has been little progress, stagnation or even

a richer perspective once they comprise a

boardroom is reached—with three believed

a decline in the representation of women on

percentage of female membership, they will

to be the tipping point—that real culture

boards dependent upon which of the various

run more effectively and create better staff

change can occur and boards can reap the

analyses is used.

and customer service since this stakeholder

benefits of gender diversity.

HR should note that Hong Kong’s leading

The percentage of companies with more

base is diverse in composition.

HR fails to attract

League of extraordinary women

HR has more than a small part to play in

Less than 10% of Board are women

The Report also includes a ‘Women on

attracting, developing and retaining the

The 2013 study reveals a bleak contrast to

Boards League Table’ which ranks the

best in female talent, changing the company

the proposed ideal; out of a total of 649

companies listed on the HSI in terms of

mindset towards an appreciation of the

directorships on the Hang Seng Index only

the gender diversity of their boards. At the

benefits of diversity and thereby striving

61 are held by women. This represents just

top of the list is China Construction Bank

for visibility of the issue at large. Assistance

9.4% and with an overall increase of just four

Corporation—reclaiming its 2009 position—

is thankfully at hand—effective from 1

new female directorships, only a nominal

with four women on its board of 12—the

September 2013 all companies listed on the

improvement since last year when the figure

highest proportionate total at a third. Hang

Hong Kong Stock Exchange are required, on

was 9%. Of the total of 50 companies listed

Seng Bank Ltd ranks second place, with five

a ‘comply or explain’ basis, to have a policy

on the HSI there is a slight increase in the

women on its board of 16.

on Board diversity, disclose the policy and

number of companies with women on their

any measurable objectives for implementing

boards—from 28 companies in 2012 to 31 in

80 years to reach parity

it and to report on progress on achieving

2013. Nineteen companies, however, continue

Fern Ngai, CEO of Community Business

those objectives. Whilst there is no specific

to have all-male Boards which is higher than

pointed out that gender is of course just

requirement to report on gender diversity,

2009 when this figure stood at 14.

one aspect of the broader diversity context.

tracking representation of women on boards

Both the number of female executive

But she cautioned, “The poor results of

provides companies with a tangible measure

directors and the number of companies with

our latest study show that more needs to

to review the composition of their board and

female executives have remained static

be done in Hong Kong. If we assume that

assess to what extent they are incorporating

since 2012. In fact there has been an overall

the total number of directors remains the

a diversity of perspectives. Non-listed

decline in the percentage of companies

same at 649, at the current rate of just four

companies might consider following suit.

with female executives since 2009—24%

additional female directorships each year, it

down from 31%. Still, only 15 women hold

will take approximately 49 years to secure

Creating a habitat for women

executive director positions and only 12

30% representation of women on boards

Katherine Tsang, Chairperson for Greater

companies have female executive directors.

and 81 years to reach parity.”

SUMMER 2013 • 29

Special FEATURE

Gender balancing act Mixture = money

Confidence is key

A gender-balanced board is good for

It has long been argued, proven even, that

According to Lau and Marsh, the main

business—not only does it open the window

organisations with women in governing

barrier preventing women rising to the

to a broader and more dynamic workforce

positions demonstrate higher operating

top is confidence—or rather a lack of it.

where different ideas are brought to the

margin and market capitalisation in the

Like many current female leaders, Lau

table, it is also proven to boost the bottom

industry than those managed by men

knows that there is a rich talent pool of

line. Why then are there so few females on

only. The results of McKinsey’s studies

women in Hong Kong suitable to embark on

boards across the world?

from the series Women Matter revealed

leadership roles but she believes that these

that companies with the highest female

women are simply more hidden and less

HR Magazine caught up with Nick Marsh,

representation in top management

inclined to put themselves forward as they

Managing Director, Harvey Nash Asia

positions achieved returns on equity 35%

do not feel empowered or ready to take on

Pacific, and Professor Amy Lau, Director of

higher than those with the lowest female

a board role. She explained, “What we see

Executive Education, Faculty of Business

representation. Despite this, men continue

in companies across Asia is that women are

and Economics, The University of Hong

to dominate the top ranks of nearly every

simply not rising to senior positions. From

Kong, who joined forces in launching The

firm across the world and women currently

an academic perspective, I see around 70%

Women’s Directorship Programme to tackle

represent only 8% of all board-level

of women graduate from our university

the issue of gender diversity at the top.

positions. Why is there such a big gender

with an accounting background each year

gap—can it simply be put down to a lack of

and I wonder where are all these women

a skilled talent pool of women? Research

going? When you talk with large accounting

suggests not and, on the contrary, women

firms they hire 50% women and 50% men,

make up more than 45% of the workforce.

but then you look at the Board and these

Since the 1970s with the dawn of the

women only represent 20% of its members

Women’s Movement heralding an era

so something is clearly going wrong. There

of equal opportunities on the grounds of

is obviously a need to help women rise up

political and professional matters, the world

and represent on boards.”

has seen an increase of female university graduates entering the job market.

30 • HR MAGAZINE

SPECIAL FEATURE

A failing combination

Women’s Directorship Programme, the

drive this agenda forward and demonstrate

Lau argued that women have every right to

content will include five modules, taught

our commitment to making a change.”

believe they can be on company boards and

over two three-day sessions (April 11–13

rightly so—they have the skill set to enrich

and June 6–8 2013) and aims to address

Following suit

an organisation and can bring an alternative

current and contemporary issues enabling

Many executives of organisations are

viewpoint to different issues within a

women to be more effective at managing

coming to understand that gender diversity

company as well as a broader perspective

boards, and increasing the supply of

in business management is crucial for

to internal and external relationships.

board-ready women executives across

achieving high performance and this

However, aside from the fact that some

industries. The interactive programme

realisation is not just occurring on a

women choose to take breaks in their

will be led by a number of esteemed

regional scale but stretches far beyond

career in order to raise and care for their

international

children and family, even when opportunity

professors and

arises for them to step up to more senior

involve real-life

positions, some are reluctant to seize it

case studies and

because they are not sure if they want it

thought leadership

or are not confident that they are capable

delivered by

of taking on the additional responsibility

industry leaders

required to be a board member. Other

who are champions

women, meanwhile, are simply unsure of

of diversity in the

what these responsibilities are to begin

Boardroom.

with. Lau believes it is this combination of

When

the boundaries of Hong Kong. Many

“...Women have every

organisations across the globe have

right to believe they can

already begun to purposefully develop

be on company boards

measures aimed

and rightly so—they have

at the attraction, promotion and retention of

the skill set to enrich an

talented female

culture, misconceptions and confidence—

commenting on the

or rather lack of it—which is preventing

joint venture Marsh

women from aiming high and March agrees.

explained, “Harvey

He added, “I think confidence is the biggest

Nash’s partnership

challenge for women. Traditionally, men

with Executive

have always been brought up to believe they

Education of the

have the right to put themselves out there

Faculty of Business

and aspire to do something and whether

and Economics

it is innate or trained or coached, this has

demonstrates

always been encouraged from the age of

our dedication to

two or three years old. A man will see an

investing in the

opportunity to rise to a more senior role, see

Asia-Pacific region

that they have 50% of the skill set required

and in future female

and feel this is enough—the rest can be

talent. Although

filled in through hope, aspiration, future

there is a great

guidance and everything else. In truth, a

deal of talk over

woman will often exclude herself if she

gender imbalance in the Boardroom, we

3%. Meanwhile, Nordic companies have

feels she does not have 90% of the skill set

are committed to taking action to tackle

adhered to gender quotas leading to women

required for the role so there is an element

the issue and enable women to achieve

comprising 32% of executive committees,

of self-selection. While a man will strive

the positions they deserve. We hope this

followed by Sweden with 27%.

to the next level, a woman will be more

programme will give them the confidence to

reserved and need to be encouraged and that

realise they already have the skills required

Foundation formally launch the Hong

is where we come in.”

to reach the top.” Lau added, “We recognise

Kong 30% Club. Originally launched in the

there is no one-size-fits-all solution when

UK in 2010, the Club comprises a group of

Lifting barriers

it comes to addressing the lack of women

chairpersons of leading UK organisations

Realising that action needed to be

in leadership positions across the world and

who have publicly committed their support

taken in order to bridge the gender gap

there is no magic strategy for a woman to

for a voluntary goal of 30% representation

and increase the number of women

reach the top in her career. However, this

of women on boards. This fruitful

on boards across the region, Harvey

programme is aimed at helping participants

collaboration hopes to bring an equally

Nash and The University of Hong Kong

develop their own set of strategies tailored

positive change to Hong Kong and see more

decided to join agendas and launch the

to their career ambitions, situation and

women reach the C-Suite. The leap from 8%

world’s first certificated, cross-industry

personality, recognising that these will

to 30% is a big one but it appears that Hong

board preparedness programme in Asia,

evolve over time as new challenges arise and

Kong is finally lifting the barriers which may

exclusively for women. Entitled The

elements in their lives change. We want to

help tip the gender scales to balance.

organisation and can bring an alternative viewpoint to different issues within a company, as well as a broader perspective to internal and external relationships.”

employees and, in some countries, the proportion of women in companies’ management is gradually on the rise.

France is leading the trend—the share of women in executive committees grew there by 7% from 2007 to 2010 while in the majority of other countries the growth rate varies between 0% and

This month will also see The Women’s

SUMMER 2013 • 31

HR FEATURES

Chinese employees see

$$ $

Chinese employees witnessed a national average salary increase of over 9% in 2012, much greater than Hong Kong’s—just a shade over 4%. Consequently, HR in China has found it difficult to keep turnover rates low.

The 2012 national average salary increase

Closing inland-coastal gap

in China was 9.1%, which was closely

The research shows the salaries gap between

mirrored by a high turnover of 18.9%,

the inland and coastal areas, where most

according to Aon Hewitt’s China 2012

investments are concentrated, is gradually

Human Capital Intelligence Report. The

narrowing. Salaries for front-line workers,

research involved more than 10 key

for example, who are the object of an

industries, including: real estate, financial,

intense war for talent, saw less than a 5%

pharmaceutical and medical equipment,

differential between the second- and third-

high technology, automobile, consumer

tier cities inland and the second-tier cities

products, retail, chemical products,

in coastal regions.

logistics and manufacturing. It covered over 4,000 foreign-invested and leading local

Sales sail ahead

enterprises in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou

In 2012, the job category witnessing the

and Shenzhen, as well as major second- and

greatest expansion was ‘Sales and Business

third-tier cities.

Development’ which has increased by up to 42% only in Shanghai. This is mostly

32 • HR MAGAZINE

Salaries surge

due to the new strict regulation which

In the four first-tier cities, the average

pushes residential real estate companies

salary increase in the manufacturing sector

to transform into commercial real estate

was 10.1% in Guangzhou, 9.8% in Shanghai,

businesses. It can be expected that the

9.8% in Beijing and 8.9% in Shenzhen.

demand for this job title will remain high

Average salary increases for the non-

in 2013. The report showed, however, an

manufacturing sector were 9.5% in Beijing,

overall salary increase of 7.9% for the

9.3% in Shanghai, 9.1% in Guangzhou and

real estate industry, slightly lower than in

8.9% in Shenzhen. Furthermore, both the

2009 and 2010 when the new regulation

average annual salary increase and turnover

was not yet in effect, and salary increases

rate in second- and third-tier cities were

in this industry are expected to slow

higher than the national average.

down in 2013.

$

HR FEATURES

$

$

“The conventional talent pool in second- and third-tier cities has been rapidly diluted by the high level of salary increases and turnover rates, resulting in continuously increasing risk affecting human resources.”

$

HR at risk

Saving personnel costs

Industries of domestic consumption, such as

According to Peter Zhang, Global Partner &

industries and functions, such as production

the retail and FMCG sectors have witnessed

Vice President, Aon Hewitt Greater China,

of the high-tech manufacturing sector, the

the largest impact by the high turnover rate

“High salary levels pushed up by high cost of

proportion has reached up to 80%.

in China. Turnover rates in 2012 were 31% in

living in coastal cities result in the relocation

retail, 26.6% in high-tech/manufacturing,

of a large number of manufacturing Research

Optimise the 90s

19.5% in fast-moving consumer goods and

& Development units to the inland, causing

The new generation born in 1990s has

19.2% in the health care industry.

shortage of talent supply. On the basis of a

also grown to be another large group in

constant pool of talents, the intense war for

the workplace. At management level, the

conventional talent pool in second- and

talents has directly led to a remuneration

diversified age structure of employees

third-tier cities has been rapidly diluted

escalation and high turnover of employees.

has also created new demands—according

by the high level of salary increases and

However, with the eventual saving in

to Zhang, selecting the correct means of

turnover rates, resulting in continuously

personnel costs and operations, it will be

communications and incentives to improve

increasing risks affecting human

an irresistible trend to move to the inland

these groups’ engagement and optimise

resources. In Chongqing and Nanjing, for

for closer connection to various partners

their performance has become an important

example, the voluntary turnover rate in

and integration with the supply chain. In

area of concern for management.

2012 was 22.3% and 19.4% respectively—

this process of moving to the inland, new

up from 9.6% and 7.3% respectively in

considerations related to the local hiring of

has entered the stage of medium-speed

2006. Another key industrial city, Wuhan,

mid-level management positions—versus

development, the impact on the industry

is highly coveted by investors due to

importing them from coastal cities— must be

is also reflected in the slowdown in sales.

the availability of abundant educational

taken into account to keep the costs of salary

For example, the healthcare sector which

resources. However, with the war for

and benefits under control.”

has always maintained a high growth in

The research shows that the

talent intensifying, the turnover rate has

is growing at a rate of almost 40%. In some

Zhang concluded, “As China’s economy

sales has seen its sales rate decrease by

climbed from 9.4% in 2004 to 14.2% in

Gen-Y takeover

5% in 2012 compared to 2009. However,

2012. According to Aon Hewitt, such a high

The generation born in 1980s, or Generation

enterprises will never stop seeking

turnover rate leads to high recruitment

Y, which has been known as the new force of

maximal profits. In the short-term with

and training costs for employers and

the workplace for many years, has become

continuous increase in personnel costs,

stagnation of the talent supply chain,

the main age component in the current

the improvement in productivity has

bringing new labour and business issues to

talent market. Compared with 2007, the

become the only way to realise sustainable

enterprises invested in Wuhan.

proportion of employees born in the 1980s

development in enterprises.”

SUMMER 2013 • 33

HR FEATURES

Integrated payroll solutions —pain or panacea?

Many businesses implement integrated payroll solutions to handle complex payroll needs. HR Magazine consulted KCS regarding the ingredients required for the implementation of a successful integrated payroll solution and the value of outsourcing the payroll function to a dedicated payroll service provider.

Ingredients of success

and financial impact analyses before going

Value of outsourcing

Large businesses intending to implement

ahead. In this way return on investment is

HR operational tasks such as that of payroll

integrated payroll solutions are faced with

assured and any short-term inconvenience

must be carried out with precision and

a multitude of challenges. Such payroll

is outweighed by this understanding.

without interruption in order for a business

systems must operate with precision,

“A successful integrated payroll

to progress as planned. As a result, you

seamlessly and without interrupting day-

solution has to be able to handle more

want to invest the right resources to ensure

to-day operations, whilst fully complying

than just computation for payroll and

business continuity and compliance with

with all relevant regulatory requirements.

should be capable of tracking all inputs

regulatory requirements. However, HR is

Given the differences between the local

including time and attendance, leave

challenged with finding the right level of

needs and centralised reporting needs

management, expense claims management,

expertise to manage these less attractive but

of organisations operating in multiple

FAQs, information updates and payslip

vital aspects of HR functions.

jurisdictions, extensive customisation

distribution,” advised Lydia Tye, Director,

is required for an integrated system to

Corporate Accounting, Head of Payroll

Tye suggested that outsourcing the payroll

adequately handle such tasks, and this

Solutions, KCS.

function to a specialist provider who is

So does outsourcing provide the answer?

must be borne in mind when considering

Finding dedicated personnel with strong

dedicated to the optimal delivery of those

the implementation of integrated payroll

IT ability and project management skills in

tasks while HR focus on the strategic side

solutions. It should also employ the latest

addition to basic HR operational expertise

of the business does become a favourable

technology, which can often be a double-

is also vital to the smooth operation of such

option in light of the complexities and

edged sword for time-pressed users.

systems, and often poses a real challenge

ever-changing needs of businesses. A

to many businesses. Additionally, adequate

reliable payroll services provider takes the

payroll system requires a significant

training would be required for such

responsibility of payroll processing off your

investment of time in clearly assessing the

personnel to keep up-to-date with the

mind and ensures that everything is done

needs of an organisation, tailoring solutions

latest technological advances as business

correctly and on time while allowing you to

to such needs and conducting cost-benefit

needs change.

focus on your business.

Implementing an advanced, streamlined

34 • HR MAGAZINE

HR FEATURES

“When the payroll function is managed externally, you control remuneration rules, pension policies, time and absences but you outsource the burden associated with payroll production.”

KCS offered the following advice when choosing

Retaining control

and managing an outsourcing partner:

Outsourcing payroll should not represent a loss of control since, if managed correctly,

• evaluate your needs thoroughly and focus

your outsourced provider will still operate

on whether the service provider has the

within the boundaries defined by your

potential to meet those needs;

company and what is more, certain aspects of their work could still require your

• set out the scope of the work to be

validation if you so wish. When the payroll

outsourced in detail right from the outset

function is managed externally, you control

and ensure that the service provider fully

remuneration rules, pension policies, time

understands your needs;

and absences but you outsource the burden associated with payroll production.

• word of mouth from your peers in the

When managed in-house, your system

market is paramount and you should

knowledge is confined to the individuals

obtain references from the current

who are charged with the responsibility.

clients of a particular vendor during the

Outsourcing should offer the best collective

selection process;

up-to-date knowledge on all related aspects. All in all, it equates to purchasing

• take the time to set up a sound validation

expertise and reducing risk.

process; and • conduct a parallel or test payroll run to Opposite: Lydia Tye, Director, Corporate

ensure that the setup and customisations

Accounting, Head of Payroll Solutions, KCS

are functioning as required.

SUMMER 2013 • 35

HR TECHNOLOGY

Piecing together the

HR puzzle

7

How technology is becoming the enabler of collaboration

To find out how collaboration can bridge the communication gap and enable faster decision making within organisations across the region, HR Magazine recently caught up with Ashley Clarke, Chief Operating Officer, FlexSystem, who helped us piece together the HR puzzle.

4

published with the initial dashboard, the

operational and financial data. After all, for

intent is that users through collaboration

example, unfilled headcount positions can

can explain and share the story behind the

be damaging in many ways. A knowledge-

numbers as soon as a report is available.

sharing platform creates a collaboration

Clarke said, “HR is only one small part of

space in which different functions within

an organisation but it touches everything

an organisation can contribute towards

as of course HR touches all aspects of the

the decision-making process by adding

business. People are not just looking at KPIs

their own comments and considerations

in human resources, they are looking at

and work together to create value. Clarke

headcount KPIs in financials, operations and

observed, “Traditionally, HR has sometimes

Collaboration is a hot topic. With

this is where communication between the

struggled to find ways of working with

organisations continuing to expand their

various departments within an organisation

other departments within an organisation

geographical footprints across the region

becomes essential to the long-term success

to ensure that a quantitative ROI (Return

and globe and, with various departments

of the business by understanding the

on Investment) was associated with

within them continuing to function against

resourcing dynamics and issues behind those

each interaction but what collaborative

their own specific KPIs (Key Performance

numbers. Greater accessibility to data is

dashboards achieve is to lift the

Indicators) and agendas, keeping track

dramatically shaping the way organisations

communication barrier that can be an

of where HR is moving and ensuring that

function and is enabling instantaneous and

obstacle to achieving this goal and thus

it aligns with business strategies can be

informed decisions to be made through

ensure that all parties are moving in the

a tall—but not impossible—order. With

the collaboration of several departments

right direction. After all, it’s a two sided

technologies evolving every day, the move

based on precise and granular information—

coin with both sides providing value to

towards a more collaborative, integrated

whether that be reviewing payroll, staff

each other.”

online world is significantly changing the

distribution, performance by educational

way organisations communicate internally

background, productivity rates and so on.

6

and this is making life for HR departments

3

11

The devil’s still in the details Clarke explained, “HR from a regional

that little bit easier and can bring

Keeping it visual

perspective adds complexity in terms of

considerable operational value.

Clarke highlighted the importance of being

details—different languages, different

able to move past just the visualisation of

currencies, different regulations and

Virtual collaboration

data on the dashboard i.e. a combination

policies, different time zones,

With collaborative tools, organisations can

of colour-coded graphs, charts, to a more

national holidays and

facilitate communication across the company

collaborative process with comment boxes

so on. Sometimes

and as a result staff can benefit from a quick

annotated to specific data points that enable

obtaining the right

and broad understanding of the facts and

clear and logical interpretation. Also by

information

issues behind the numbers. Clarke explained

allowing a toggle to the original underlying

in a timely

that a collaborative digital dashboard within

data further exploration can take place

manner

a management information system can be

thus providing a high level of interaction

can be

deployed on-premise or through a cloud

with the data for those authorised to access

the

and be accessed by different departments

it. He also explained how data could be

in different locations across a company. The

sliced in different ways to target relevant

dashboard enables collaborative input on

audiences and to present data relevant to

matters relating to KPIs, staff recruitment,

specific functions—from the sales team to

retention and composition, to name but

the finance department or hiring managers

a few, and although commentary can be

with each view containing a combination of

9

36 • HR MAGAZINE

HR TECHNOLOGY

12

biggest challenge for organisations across

effective global Employee Self

the region especially to answer those

Service platform (a.k.a. ESS)

one-line emails from head office. For

that is well thought through

example, issues to get like-for-like yearly

can benefit work/life balance by

comparison of headcount data (especially if

allowing employees to do simple

it includes partial headcounts on allocation)

tasks online and management

or at least being able to reconcile and

can benefit from having

explain HR costs across geographical

authorisation streams passed

boundaries for like for like roles. Gaining

directly to them for approval

access to small but ultimately important

that can even be executed

components of a larger task can prolong or

through mobile. At the more

foil otherwise straightforward dealings and

complex end the same can be

quite often time and money is lost.

achieved across geographies

This is particularly true in HRMS and

and has the added benefit of

payroll systems but a detailed approach to

key relevant data always being

software design can provide advantages.

available for reporting.”

For example a view of historical data like a

He believes that there is a

10

headcount sheet at a particular point in time

clear need for the market to

or the ability to input yet-to-be-effective

facilitate organisations on cloud

new policies into the infrastructure in

technology, plus security and

advance to streamline processes can save

vendors will need to enhance

time”. Therefore, advanced software

their customers’ understanding

technology is taking on an increasingly

of it as a beneficial delivery

important role when it comes to eradicating

vehicle together with its

those difficult areas of reconciliation and

investment benefits in order

enabling broader communication across the

for it to gain wider adoption.

board—from the HR department through to

There is probably a hybrid cycle

the financial team and broader management

of on-premise and cloud to go through.

within an organisation. He added,

Specifically, vendors should be able to help

“With it being so competitive out there,

in any process that crosses between on-

organisations want to increase the speed at

premise and cloud-based components so

can access is somewhat daunting to some

which they make things happen against a

that the best of both worlds can be achieved

organisations. However, Clarke confirmed

backdrop of a more efficient HR team and

in practice with detailed information perhaps

that there are systems in place to enable

this is where the collaboration of relevant

kept on-premise and non-detailed summary

employers to adopt the mobile device while

and specific data becomes vital and where

data held in the cloud. However this is not

maintaining data protection and avoiding the

technology such as online collaborative

clear-cut but perhaps where our mindsets

risk of unauthorised activity in or outside the

dashboards play a significant role.”

are at this point in time as in theory the likes

workplace. He explained, “Everyone is aware

of global vendors have far more financial

that collaboration and mobile is opening up

muscle and resource to secure a system than

doors and that Gen-Y is more technology-

According to Clarke, there are clear benefits

say a regional or local office. FlexSystem has

focused so there is a desire to make things

of deploying a collaborative HR system on to

been working with Cloud since 2012 with

work and collaboration doesn’t have to

the cloud to support global regional or local

global providers such as Microsoft Azure

be restricted to the desktop computer.

and Amazon Web Services thereby giving

The technology market is innovating and

business users a single, overall view of

there are many different suppliers who

workforce information and in-depth analysis

can offer solutions to ensure information

of employee data.

is shared in a secure way, whether that be

8

The cloud’s spotlight

2

initiatives as it can help companies

reduce costs while improving service quality and

compliance. “At one end in a simple

organisation an

Collaborative digital dashboard within FESA

5

HR management information system

1

via managing what content and web pages

Securing the future

can be accessed, even to the extent of

Future proofing any solution is not just about

installing GPS functionality to control what

cloud computing but also its intersection

information can be obtained depending on

with mobile. The explosion of smartphone

the geographical location of the user and

and tablet adoption in the enterprise world

to control specific times of access. Security

cannot be denied. Mobile initiatives have

is always an issue but as long as it evolves

popped up in almost every corner of the

in line with new technology and evolves in

business. It is becoming more popular in the

a way where customers can incrementally

workplace among Gen-Y, and a corporate’s

build, replace or extend current systems,

ability to control what information the user

the sky’s the limit.”

SUMMER 2013 • 37

HR FEATURES

38 • HR MAGAZINE

EMPLOYEE WELLNESS

Motivation minefield Are your employees in the mood for work?

When it comes to personal preferences and

less proud of their employer compared with

motivating factors, everyone is different,

workers worldwide. Jean Baptiste Aloy,

ebb, the number of employees that admit

right? Research carried out by global

Senior VP of Employee Research at IPSOS

they are on the lookout for a change is in

research group Ipsos seems to suggest

Hong Kong commented, “Based on employee

line with the rest of Asia and the world: 18%

that, when it comes to understanding your

research scores, people are not very proud,

in Hong Kong plan to leave their current

workforce, first understanding their culture

not very loyal and are not in the mood for

employer, 17% in Asia and 20% worldwide.

and background is a necessity.

much, but there is obviously more to it.”

A similar percentage in each geography is

Office culture

Work/work balance

No one is saying that within a certain culture

Hongkongers work the longest hours in

reside only a carbon-copy set of clones,

APAC. A Hudson Hong Kong report found

The Asian challenge

but rather that matters such as leisure,

that over 50% work over 50 hours per

When compared to workers globally, Hong

trust for authority, need for job security

week. Add to this an extremely high level of

Kong workers tend to be less aligned to

and employee expectations tend to be

productivity growth—3.4% on average over

company culture and less confident about

ingrained upon individuals throughout their

the past 10 years compared with 1.4% in the

management and company decisions.

upbringing. So, while not every Englishman

US, 0.8% in Germany and 3.1% in Taiwan—

When it comes to corporate strategy, only

may expect to be, or put up with being,

and it is clear to see that expectations for

50% feel the company is moving in the right

in work from 9 – 5, five days a week, they

productivity per worker are increasing

direction. Aloy observed that, “In Hong

will perhaps at least have the notion that

exponentially. Aloy alluded to the Gen-Y

Kong you only have half of the people saying

this is the work frame upon which to base

workers of Hong Kong, their following of

that they endorse the strategy.” While this

their expectations. Likewise, in Hong Kong

the trend to stay late in the office—working

is roughly in line with the global response,

natives’ work-mad, security-conscious

late for the sake of working late, and their

for any corporation this highlights a major

mindset, clocking out at five, regardless

particularly high level of demotivation.

hindrance to true organisational reform and

of whether the boss has left the office yet

With employer expectations like this it is no

improvement. If its workers do not support

would—in some, not all, cases—result in an

wonder that they tend to hop from job to job.

a company’s vision then how can customers

While motivation in Hong Kong is at a low

planning to change job, but stay within the

outbreak of hives.

IPSOS’ latest findings show that

same company.

be expected to do so?

Critical culture

Aloy added, “Only 39% of workers in

employee motivation in Hong Kong is

With the multitude of ratings received in

Hong Kong would recommend the products

amongst the lowest in the world—a little

preparation for the Ipsos study, cultural bias

or services of their company to their family

over a third report feeling motivated in

needed to be factored in. Aloy commented,

and friends, you absolutely need to start

their current position. This is not simply an

“Hongkongers are hard raters.” Observing

with managers to change this.” He advised

Asia-wide tendency—when compared with

the voting style of Hongkongers has shown

that raising loyalty is not necessarily the

the average score of every other country in

that they are loathe to award top marks,

task at hand per se, as even this without

the world, Hong Kong’s employees are 25%

perhaps reflecting the society’s constant

high motivation will undoubtedly result

less likely to report being motivated, when

strive for perfection. When comparing the

in employees leaving. To retain the best

compared with Asia as a whole, Hong Kong

OpenRice reviews for one of Asia’s top ten

staff, Aloy endorsed alignment; ensuring

employees are still 21% less motivated.

restaurants—L’Atelier Hong Kong—with

that all are aware of and trust the corporate

restaurants owned by the same acclaimed

strategy, although, “There is no single

Itchy feet

French chef, Joël Robuchon, on similar online

recipe for success in term of retention.” At

With the situation in Europe and North

food rating websites in the UK and US, this

the point of employment it is important

America improving at a steady but hardly

tough approach is clear to see. While in both

to attract the right people, not many

breakneck rate, their employees are showing

London and Las Vegas, Robuchon’s eateries

people. An employee that is well aware of

a high level of loyalty, keen to retain their

score 4.5, L’Atelier achieves a score of just

a company’s culture and direction before

security through the uncertainty. The local

4.2. Assumedly 4.2 is as good as it gets for

they decide to join is less likely to jump ship

sentiment is quite the reverse, Hong Kong

Hong Kong reviewers. When Ipsos ‘models’

within a few months feeling disillusioned.

workers were found to be less loyal to and

its findings, accounting for and removing

Aloy quipped, “It is possible to ‘sexify’ jobs,

less proud of their workplaces; 12% less

cultural bias, many Asian countries go up

but there is a limit!” Do not overpromise

loyal than other workers in Asia, and 18%

slightly in terms of satisfaction.

something that cannot later be delivered.

SUMMER 2013 • 39

EMPLOYEE WELLNESS

HR Burn•out

bərnˌout

noun

physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress

Work Burnout Screener If you answer ‘yes’ to the majority of the below questions, you might be experiencing

Burnout is common among people in positions that have a high degree of dedication to their work, high performance expectations and those engaging in psychologically draining workplace scenarios. Sound like HR? From time to time most in HR experience a lack of energy, feel run down, a little depressed or perhaps even angry—but does this really equate to being burned out?

burnout at work.

•

Do you frequently feel frustrated at work and feel better after you leave?

•

Do you frequently feel like you are not accomplishing anything, despite working very hard?

Workloads mean burnout

Cost of burnout

Stress remains an unavoidable part of

In organisations that fail to address the issue

everyday life and the damage that workplace

of burnout, and frown upon extended work

stress can bring to staff health is well

breaks for employees, recovery from burnout

documented—but it can be reduced and

can then range from staff ‘needing’ to take

prevented to a certain degree. In contrast,

extended vacations, to absence from work

burnout is a chronic form of stress that in

for health reasons and associated healthcare

view of its long-term nature can eventually

costs. All of this then has a huge impact not

become disabling. According to Dr Chez

just in terms of individual staff members, but

Cristiano, OD Director, Organisational

on the organisation as a whole.

•

Is your tolerance level for problems frequently lower than usual?

•

Are you frequently drained of energy at the end of the workday?

•

Does it take you an unusual amount of time to recover from your workday?

•

Development Consulting, burnout has

When you wake up, do you dread spending another day at work?

significantly increased over the last five

Identifying & avoiding burnout

years due to the increase in workload to

A work burnout screener was recently

employees, thanks to downsizing.

designed by Dr Cristiano to help workers

you cannot accomplish much outside

realise if they really are experiencing

of work?

Keeping workplaces healthy Citing the growing burnout problem in the

•

Do you feel so drained of energy that

burnout in their workplaces.

Dr Cristiano advised those who think they

•

Do you frequently stay after normal

US, Dr Cristiano commented, “It doesn’t

might be experiencing burnout to seek the

work hours and/or bring work home

help that people at all levels of the corporate

help of medical professionals such as a GP

with you?

world in the US are afraid to lose their job

MD and/or psychologist to help determine

while on vacation, so they only take three-

whether this is in fact the nature of the

day weekends for a brief getaway and break

problem. A plan of action should be created

from the office. In order to fully recharge,

and implemented as soon as possible to

people should be taking their normal full

limit the potential problems. He concluded,

vacation on a yearly basis.”

“It is important to learn how to manage

year since you took a single vacation of

stress better, in order to avoid burnout. This

at least 2+ weeks?

In contrast to the US, employees in

•

Do you socialise less than you used to due to a lack of energy?

•

Has it been an extended period of 1+

western Europe usually enjoy vacations that

can be accomplished in a variety of ways

are twice as long as the average vacation

like regular exercise, eating a balanced diet,

taken by Americans. Dr Cristiano added,

yoga, meditation, acupuncture, limiting

“One might think this some silly socialistic

caffeine or caffeine-like substances,

indulgence, but it is actually a very smart

allowing for some down time, listening to

move on the part of corporations and

music and humour. Remember, you cannot

for the worse in the last three to six

society that helps organisations and

escape stress, but you can learn how to

months without a clear explanation

employees stay healthier.”

manage it and prevent burnout.”

from a medical exam and tests?

40 • HR MAGAZINE

•

Do you frequently feel helpless with no way to escape your current situation?

•

Has your physical health taken a turn

Work Burnout Screener Copyright © 2012 by Dr. Chez F. Cristiano

HR FEATURES

Top tips towards work focus The latest research into self-control from the School of Business at The University of Hong Kong suggests that individuals are the best managers of their own potential distractions—neither HR nor restrictions imposed by the IT Department will be as effective. But by offering training, HR can help individuals learn why and how to better focus and help achieve goals. Doctoral candidate Sander Paul Zwanenburg explains the findings further, with tips from the White House on how to spend decision-making energy wisely.

Demands on attention

is depleted, we cannot control ourselves

Distractions at work are more pervasive than

anymore: we become more impulsive, acting

• Abate your alerts. By switching off the

ever before. Not only our PCs but also our

out what comes straight to mind, rather than

notifications that do not need your

smartphones and tablet computers constantly

following goals or plans. When we take rest,

immediate attention, you do not need

grab our attention with incoming messages,

we replenish energy. This is why it is at night

to resist the temptation of promptly

the latest software updates and news from

and not in the morning when people break

responding to them, saving self-control

social networks. Notifications keep people

their diet or commit more serious sins.

energy. If you would not have resisted

from focusing on their task, but many people

This theory predicts when focus on work

also distract themselves by suddenly turning

is a struggle. For example, if you make

their attention to what is new online.

many conscious, thoughtful decisions in

The danger of distractions is in not

the morning, making many more in the

anyway, you save time by attending to tasks consecutively.

• Routinise recurring activities. Going

getting the work done, which can be very

afternoon is harder. You are more likely to

to the gym in the early morning is

frustrating. This danger looms even when

make these later decisions without much

perhaps something to make a regular

the distractions are work-related. Workflow

conscious effort, or push them to tomorrow.

plan for, rather than deciding every

experiments have shown that frequently

Similarly, a gamer on a diet may resist

morning. With positive habits you save

switching between tasks—multitasking—

eating a birthday treat, but as a result, the

more energy for the decisions that

may feel productive, but always costs more

temptation of playing a game later that day

need it most.

time to finish; 50% longer, compared to

in the office can become irresistible.

attending to tasks consecutively.

• Delegate the details. If you passionately Tips for top performance

lead a team, chances are you are involved

The muscle of self-control

This insight teaches us two lessons for better

in the more detailed decisions, but this

Fortunately, research on self-control can offer

concentration at work. First, take sufficient

can come at the cost of your energy for

some help to achieve better focus. Decades

rest to fully replenish your self-control

the big picture. If you become stressed

of experiments and surveys have gradually

energy. For instance, if you want to work but

about important decisions, consider

revealed the inner workings of self-control, or

you cannot focus, spending twenty minutes

delegating trivial decisions to your team

our ability to override our impulses. This insight

on a nap is a better investment than spending

members.

has had major implications for theory, but has

the same time wandering around the web.

great potential for practical use at work as well.

Psychologists have found that self-control

The second lesson is to spend your self-

• Regulate your own web restriction.

control energy wisely. Spend it on things that

If certain websites are particularly

works like a muscle. Like using a muscle,

deserve it. Having many important decisions

distractive to you, software can help you

controlling an impulse consumes an amount

to make, Barack Obama applies this lesson to

stop visiting these online places when

of energy. Coping with stress, resisting

the extreme—he tries not to decide what to

you want to work. After a while, you get

temptation or deciding based on goals rather

wear or eat anymore to fully focus on his big

used to this restriction, and do not even

than habit or intuition all require the same

job. This goes a little far for many people, but

think about going there anymore—again

type of energy. But we only have a limited

there are many more practical tips for wisely

saving energy.

pool of this self-control energy. When it

spending energy:

SUMMER 2013 • 41

EMPLOYEE WELLNESS

Transnational employee insurance Global workforces highlight need for HR to find appropriate insurance

HR has seen multiple metamorphoses

Transnational HR

goals for themselves, every person who is

over the years, not the least of which

Today, things are very different and

insured through the brokers and agencies

has been as a consequence of the

organisations that operate globally are

that we work with can expect a superior

globalisation of business. When

labelling themselves ‘transnationals’

experience when receiving healthcare

business first started going global, most

with a devolution of power away from

coverage. Pacific Prime exemplifies this

adopted a traditional colonial-style

the headquarters and instead towards

commitment to customer service excellence

approach to expansion. Trailblazing

local markets. HR is now faced with

and we are happy to have them setting the

managers were often sent out from the

the challenge of having to marry

mark for others in the industry to strive for.”

‘motherland’ headquarters to establish

global corporate initiatives with the

‘colony’ companies in different

idiosyncrasies of local business landscapes

Leading the insurance pack

regions around the world. Later, the

and their associated talent skill sets. HR, in

Quality insurers recognise that every HR

multinational approach became more

embracing such globalisation, increasingly

manager and organisation they work with

popular—with organisations rolling

has to push talent around the world in

has different needs when it comes to

out carbon copies of ‘motherland’

order to get jobs done in time and on

insurance, and the importance of being able

operations in regions around the world

budget—forming a constantly mobile and

to quickly identify their needs and offer

where they conducted business.

much more ephemeral global workforce.

them insurance plans that best suit these needs is critical. There is a shortlist of things

“With Asia being the area of the world that has perhaps fared the best following the Global Financial Crisis, we are seeing a high number of organisations targeting China and other nearby countries to do business in.”

42 • HR MAGAZINE

Global workforces vulnerable

that will determine how good an insurance

Managing these global workforces is no

distributor is—with marketing and customer

mean feat, and by their nomadic nature they

service being critical. Neil Raymond, CEO,

are more vulnerable to global epidemics

Pacific Prime commented, “In the past

and more liable to be involved in situations

year, our marketing team has grown

that require medical assistance around the

considerably to keep up with the demands

world. Continually moving talent across

of a highly competitive marketplace

borders means HR now has to ensure

and the evolution of how people find

multiple safeguards are in place to ensure

insurers online. On the customer relations

that workers are able to work legally and

side, we continue to focus on having a

safely in different workplaces around the

knowledgeable staff that can provide top-

world. A critical aspect of this is the need

notch advice to every customer.”

to ensure staff are effectively covered with appropriate medical schemes.

As trade continues to cross borders,

China—insurance hotspot Bupa International only entered the

international medical insurance has seen

China market in 2010, and ever since has

a dramatic rise in importance. But, amidst

seen APAC continually grow in terms

growing competition in this sector, how

of business significance. Bond added,

can HR measure the effectiveness of

“Naturally, along with this we are also

different global insurance providers? Bupa

building stronger partnerships with

International may have the answer. The

brokers and agents in the area.”

organisation analysed over 3,000 different

Raymond concluded, “With Asia being the

global insurance intermediaries and looked

area of the world that has perhaps fared the

at factors including scale of business

best following the Global Financial Crisis, we

operations, number of clients serviced and

are seeing a high number of organisations

provision of ‘first-rate customer service in all

targeting China and other nearby countries

aspects of the insurance process’. Among the

to do business in. That means more local

3,000, Pacific Prime received the coveted Top

employees for foreign companies and more

Global Distributor Award for 2012-2013.

expatriates moving to Asia from abroad—all

Ray Bond, Head of Sales, Asia Pacific, Bupa

of whom need insurance. I believe that many

International explained, “Bupa International

of the world's insurers are taking note of

has the highest expectations for our

these trends and vying for a larger piece of

partners, and by driving them to set higher

the Asian market.”

HR FEATURES

Discover Your Talents To help you and your organization reach your full potential, we apply psychological principles to understand your business practice, to discover your employees’ true motivators, and to formulate a strategy that inspires performance.

Germany l Hong Kong l United States l Brazil SUMMER 2013 • 43

www.atrain-apac.com

HR TRAINING

Fostering innovation in complex organisations To create innovative output, organisations need more than innovation strategies and systems. True innovation capabilities emerge when highly competent individuals work together in an organisational culture that enables creativity. Building both the innovation capabilities, as well as the culture to support it, is a key task of HR. It starts with identifying who your current and future innovators are and enabling them to develop critical competencies.

The role of HR in 21st Century innovation

and development and their actual degree of

alongside HR departments, can convince

With increased global competition and

innovation success. It takes more than that:

others by creating a desirable vision, ensuring

accelerated technological change, innovation

the organisation needs rare resources—

they see how the innovation can contribute

has become a matter of survival for many

particularly know-how, talented people and

to this vision. On the meta-level of creating

organisations. HR plays a decisive role

a unique way of combining these resources

an innovation culture, leaders set the tone

to make the necessary changes happen.

into effective problem-solving strategies.

for experimentation, learning, and personal

Organisations need to be able to constantly

This revolves around nurturing a strong

development. They challenge their employees

advance, rethink, or even reinvent their

innovation culture through which true

intellectually, provide them with the freedom

products, services and processes. Much

innovation capabilities can be built. Unlike

to work on creative ideas, give feedback and

of the progress of the 20th century relied

most technologies that can be copied by

empower them to take calculated risks.

on the ability to produce better quality

your competition, this deeper ability to

products at lower cost. For the 21st century

constantly innovate can truly differentiate

implementation phase most innovations are

this has changed. In recent decades western

your business and is difficult to imitate.

handled as projects. This modern form of

countries have moved a considerable amount

Project Managers: during the

organisation is very flexible, but at the same

of their production capacity to developing

Innovation processes—key individuals

time creates its own challenges. Usually the

countries, especially in Asia. Thus western

Building innovation capabilities begins

team members have a day-to-day job in

economies have to fill the void by creating

with HR and the organisation’s leaders

their department in parallel to the project,

more cutting-edge technology, faster.

identifying current and potential

and the project manager has no formal

innovators. Research has long-emphasised

authority in the team. Therefore, project

the manufacturing-orientated developing

the importance of competent and passionate

managers need superb skills to facilitate

countries. There are more and more

individuals to drive innovation projects

groups and build a trustful relationship with

indications that in mainland China the

against obstacles and resistance. Innovators

each team member. This trust will earn

new administration will gradually shift

not only help make single innovation

the project manager the credit to lead in

the economy’s focus towards high-tech

projects successful, they can also be the

the rough waters of crisis and temporary

industries—creating increased need for

nucleus to help transform an organisational

failure that most innovation projects need

innovation in China and throughout APAC.

culture into an innovational culture. With

to pass. Project managers profit from well-

their passion, skills and visibility, they are

developed intrapersonal coping mechanisms

powerful role models and multipliers.

that allow them to stay optimistic and

The picture also starts to change for

Strategic change via HR innovation Organisations face significant challenges

Leaders: the leaders of the organisation

action-orientated.

when trying to successfully manage

have the power and formal authority to

innovation. Having a generous budget,

support creative ideas and innovation

knowledge, experts develop creative ideas and

an innovation strategy and formal

concepts. These leaders are the advocates,

assess existing ideas for their potential. These

innovation systems in place is often not

influencing others to support the new

experts solve complex technical problems during

enough to produce an innovative output.

concept. Managing stakeholders is of crucial

the process. When working with generalists,

Some research suggests that there is no

importance, as is the ability to recognise

the experts need to be able to communicate

correlation whatsoever between the amount

who still has concerns and opposes the

technically sophisticated issues to the non-

of money companies spend on research

implementation. Innovative leaders,

experts in simple, comprehensible terms.

44 • HR MAGAZINE

Experts: relying on their technological

HR TRAINING

This article was written by Benjamin Schültz, Senior Consultant of atrain GmbH with offices in Germany, Hong Kong, US and Brazil.

Case study Developing & identifying innovators

Equipping innovation enablers

In subsequent training sessions, the project

In a recent research project funded by the

Taking an example of an organisation which

managers worked on their skills around

German Federal Ministry of Education

produces premium home entertainment

leading developmental teams. Training based

and Research, atrain developed and

products—project managers played a crucial

on real-life situations was used, for example

evaluated an approach to identify and

role in the company’s innovation culture.

difficult conversations with team members

systematically develop potential innovators

Each of the project managers was responsible

or facilitating conflict in team meetings. It

in organisations. Individuals were equipped

for five to ten innovation projects, which

turned out that the most effective part of

with the competencies needed to overcome

were mainly new product developments.

those trainings was the critical feedback that

obstacles in innovation processes. The

Several projects in the previous years,

the project managers gave to their peers

fostering of a culture of innovation was

however, had not produced expected results.

based on realistic role plays.

enabled by the company, which often

atrain’s analysis revealed that some of the

includes a significant amount of reflection

projects were characterised by too little

into daily work, the project managers

and modification of one’s own attitudes and

collaboration between departments, conflicts

facilitated team meetings with their actual

beliefs. As a first step, awareness of own

in the project teams and not enough critical

project teams whilst the trainer acted as

strengths and areas of development is key

thinking and creativity in the development

coach. On a second level of intervention

for the participants.

process. The project managers, while being

atrain supported the project management

To build competencies, a mixture of

strong on the technological and content side

department to develop a stakeholder map to

workshops, mentoring and coaching was

of their projects, lacked competencies around

better include important senior leaders from

utilised. Innovators are highly intrinsically

facilitating diverse teams, influencing people

different parts of the organisation into the

motivated and therefore profit most from

and creating motivation and enthusiasm.

project work.

learning environments that are rich in

A questionnaire, sent to over 100 team

To promote the transfer of points learned

After six months, in a post-project

possibilities to learn hands-on. To ensure

members and other stakeholders of the

evaluation, the participants were highly

that the enhanced innovation competencies

innovation process, helped visualise

satisfied with the programme. The majority

take effect, organisational structures

different dimensions of problem solving and

of the project managers had made progress

and processes have to be revisited and

collaboration in the projects. Feeding back

on important dimensions of innovation-

modified, if necessary. Fostering innovation

the results to the project managers helped

related behaviour, despite adverse

capabilities affects the entire organisation

create awareness for areas of improvement.

economic conditions.

and therefore needs genuine buy-in from the leaders. Once an organisation is ready to accept those challenges, substantial

Want to share your thoughts about something you read in this article or ask futher questions

progress towards a highly innovation-

relating to talent management/organisational development in Asia?

focused culture can be made.

Email: question@atrain.com and atrain will answer them.

SUMMER 2013 • 45

HR COMMUNITY

People in Energy East HR & Talent Roundup from Management Summit for the Oil and Energy Industry in APAC and the Middle East

Energy is one of the most powerful sectors in the global economy—six of the top ten biggest companies in the world are oil and gas companies.

However, as shortfalls of high and lowskilled workers continue to fuel the war for talent within industry across Asia and the Middle East, never has there been a more important time for HR practitioners to focus on recruiting, retaining and developing tomorrow’s talent to ensure the continued flow of adequately skilled professionals.

Puan Raiha Azni Abdul Rahman, Vice

Kenneth Rediker Ph.D, Former Director,

President Human Resource Management

Management Development, Saudi Aramco

Division, PETRONAS Topic: Accelerating the development of Topic: Building own timber—A shared future

High Potentials—The needs and challenges for leaders and organisations

Opening the two-day summit, Rahman shared insight into the human capital

How do you identify high-potential talent?

philosophy of Petronas and how it

Who are they? Where are they and why

translates into recruitment, capability

do you need them now? These were the

and succession planning. Overcoming

questions posed by Rediker, who explored

the global talent war was at the heart of

the challenges of what attributes matter most

Rahman’s presentation. She explained

when it comes to identifying high potential

the strategic steps the company has

leaders. Is experience, past performance,

This year’s People in Energy East Summit

taken to build its ‘own timber’ since

education, formal assessment results or senior

brought together some of the region’s

1974, including boosting hiring of young

management judgement most important?

most senior HR management executives to

executives, establishing the Universiti

Forbes Asia’s feature Asia's Women In The Mix,

tackle real-world workforce issues that are

Teknologi Petronas (UTP) in 1997 and

2013: The Year's Top 50 for Achievement In Business

impacting the bottom line of organisations

sponsoring 400 local school children in

ranked energy, ideas, charisma and clout as the

within the oil and gas industry across

an attempt to nurture the next generation

most desirable qualities in its ‘twelve women

the globe. Offering insight and practical

of talent. Rahman also tackled issues

to watch’. Identifying what matters most in

sessions, the two-day event addressed the

relating to the attraction, retention and

candidates is an educated guess when looking

latest strategies in recruitment, leadership

development of Generation Y and the

7 or 8 years ahead and choosing whether to fix

development, learning, organisational

importance of long-term growth and

the low performers and low potentials, or focus

capability, engagement and retention that

development, concluding, “If you’re

energy on HiPos is a dilemma. Rediker shared

aim to drive increased productivity and

looking for dollars and cents we may not

Saudi Aramco’s strategies on how to identify

business excellence in the energy markets

be the choice for you, but if you’re looking

and develop them, “Identifying HiPos alone

in Asia and the Middle East.

for growth and development then we’re

isn’t adequate, if we want to demonstrate ROI

the place for you”.

on HiPos then development of them is critical.”

46 • HR MAGAZINE

Malaysia • HR COMMUNITY

Joe Chalouhi, Senior HR Director Middle East

with people and getting the best out of them

Adele Bernard, Head of Cloud Marketing for

North Africa, Turkey & Pakistan, GE Energy

is an organic process almost like farming

Asia Pacific and Japan, SuccessFactors, an

where you need to nurture them. “When

SAP Company

Topic: Coaching & mentoring—Driving a

it comes to innovation and building good

culture for superior performance

pioneering solutions and integrity, honesty

Topic: Shortage of skilled labour—

and openness, real leadership is about

McKinsey predicts the war for talent will go

“People are different and one style of

walking the talk and living the values,” he

nuts by 2020

management does not fit all.” This was

explained. A leadership programme must

at the heart of Chalouhi’s presentation,

mirror the core values of a business and

Lack of critical competency creates capacity

which addressed the importance of

companies not only need to know what they

bottlenecks and prevents organisations

catering for the demands and needs of a

have delivered to their teams, they also

from performing crucial tasks and the war

multinational, multigenerational pool of

need to look at how they have delivered it. A

for talent will ‘go nuts’ by 2020, according

talent within the oil and gas industry. As

360° analysis is important in order to obtain

to Bernard. The scarcity of high- and low-

workforces become more transient, more

sufficient data and, for leadership training

skilled workers will have a huge effect on

transnational, and more ‘Gen-Y’, the task

to work, a strong framework is key.

how HR practitioners will go about their

to attract, retain and develop top talent is

recruiting. Taking Malaysia as an example,

becoming ever more challenging for HR.

she explained that the oil and gas industry

“Get to know your teams, get to know

Dinesh Chelvathurai, Chief Learning Officer,

will require over 40,000 skilled workers by

their diverse culture and backgrounds

Scomi Group

2015; a tall order for HR teams in the region.

and get to know what they really want,”

Recruitment has become complex and—with

was Chalouhi’s advice. He stressed

Topic: Developing a talent management

300 million job seekers every day beginning

the importance of building trustful

programme within your organisation—

their hunt using a search engine, and 90%

relationships and investing in modern

How Scomi Group did it

of candidates not applying for jobs they see

and effective coaching and mentoring to

on job boards the first time—companies

ensure talent is nurtured in the long-term,

“By 2020, leaders will have to cope with

must move from reactive to proactive mode

whether that is for the baby-boomers or

the tantrums of five generations and it’s

in order to ensure supply and demand are

the Gen-Ys of an organisation.

not going to be easy.” This was the core

met and they must adopt engaging, online

message of Chelvathurai’s presentation.

strategies to entice top talent.

He went on to explain that, by this date, Dave Reed, VP Business Efficiency, Senergy

more than 50% of the working population

International Sdn Bhd

will be ‘Gen-Yers’ and how having to deal

Jatinder Peters, Former Head Delhi Office

with the challenges of this demanding

and GGM (HR)—Chief Corporate Affairs,

Gary Miles, Director of International

generation—when it comes to gaining

Oil & Natural Gas Corporate Ltd, Secretary

Operations and Associate Relations, Roffey

rewards, achieving a healthy work-life

of Petrotech & Vice Chairman at National

Park Institute LTD

balance and maintaining engagement—are

Institute of Personnel Management

all things business leaders will need to Topic: Leadership development in a

consider. Times have changed and while

Topic: Bridging the gender gap—Attracting

technical organisation—The partnership

those working within the industry were

and engaging women professionals

between Senergy and Roffey Park

once happy to ‘up’ their lives and be posted abroad with their partner in tail,

“A woman is like a teabag: you cannot tell

“Managers are often so busy cutting down

there is now the ‘dual career’ issue where

how strong she is until you put her in hot

the trees they can’t see the forest, leaders

men and women alike are committed

water,” Peters explained as she shared

climb the tallest tree and shout down,

to their jobs and not as flexible as they

insight into the proportion of women on

‘We’re in the wrong forest’.” This was the

once were. Building relationships with

boards across the globe. She believes that

powerful analogy used by Reed to convey

employees is fundamental to being an

the oil and gas industry as a whole has not

the importance of aligning leadership

effective leader, Chelvathurai advised, as

been highlighting career prospects and the

style with an organisation’s long-term

he stressed the importance of tailoring a

linkage between the industry and academia

objectives. He explained that companies

talent management programme to fit the

is largely missing. Today, integration is

and people development programmes are

cultural needs of a country and aligning HR

the name of the game and she explained

built on an element of predictions about

strategies with the business needs of the

the need to not just recruit and retain

the market, but in fact the future cannot be

company, something that the Scomi Group

staff, but also the need to re-equip them

predicted. Therefore, the process of dealing

is striving to achieve.

with skills required for the industry. She

SUMMER 2013 • 47

HR COMMUNITY • Malaysia

“A brand should be true to itself from whatever perspective you see it...”

Sanjay Singh, Director Human Resources,

the organisation has several offerings to

Cairn India

meet the need of a multicultural workforce, spanning from mentoring and on-boarding

Topic: Making the difference—

programmes, e-learning on environmental

Constructing a solid employer brand

awareness and office safety, lunchtime sharing sessions, employee internet

“A brand should be true to itself from

accessible from around the world, employee

whatever perspective you see it,” explained

stock options schemes (ESOS), seafarers

Singh, as he shared his insight into the

blogs and complaint channels, to name but

fundamental elements of successful employer

a few. Balan summarised, “We don’t hire

explored issues such as the need to keep

branding. A new recruit will decide whether

based on cost, we hire for talent, we hire

women in touch with technical advances

they will stay with or leave an organisation

for skills and these strategies allow us to

while they are on maternity leave, the need

within the first two days of their employment,

empower our people.”

to assign mentors, facilitate and evolve

therefore the essence of an organisation

existing gender roles and overcome practical

should be genuine from the inside out as

problems in order to accelerate women to

much as the outside in. Organisations must

Rohit Zutshi, Head of Human Resources

the top and raise their professional status.

be distinctive in order to attract and retain the

Asia, Gazprom Marketing & Trading

best talent in times of shortage and this does not have to be complicated. Building a brand

Topic: Leveraging experienced

Sarah Bass, Head of HR Asia Pacific,

around a core set of values and objectives is

professionals for training initiatives—The

GL Noble Denton

the best place to start and if these are solid

development of formal knowledge transfer

and true and established from day one of

programmes

Topic: The business case for employee

employment, a company stands a far better

engagement and monitoring its effectiveness

chance of developing its people and growing

The oil and gas industry depends upon

its business.

experience and how mature, experienced

“What is employee engagement?” Bass

professionals are used by HR within an

asked, “It means something different

organisation in order to coach and mentor

to each company, but it isn’t about

Madhusudanan Balan, Chief Talent Officer

new talent is vital, explained Zutshi.

spending huge amounts of money, it’s

(Vice President Human Resources),

Transferring knowledge and learning from

about engaging employees and getting

Bumi Armada

experience from generation to generation

them to stay—as simple as that.” Most

is core to Gazprom’s talent development

organisations now invest time in finding

Topic: Navigating towards rapid growth

strategy and putting an expert from the

out what their employees think about the

through talent management

business at the head of L&D can encourage

business and the direction in which it is

this. Filling the talent gap is another tall

growing as part of their strategy to engage

“Employer branding and employer promise

order for HR and overcoming the war

staff, as engaged employees understand

is vital,” explained Balan. “When people

for talent poses several challenges for

the business. She explained that having

come from different backgrounds it’s

businesses in the sector, especially with

employees and the organisation working

important to know if the company is what

economic, political and environmental

in tandem is good for business and for

they expected it to be.” He explained the

issues thrown into the mix. Engagement,

people. Using case studies to bring theory

steps the company has adopted to reach

talent development and career progression

to life, Bass explored the key steps to

its goal of doubling the business in the

is what employees are looking for and with

the employee engagement cycle, whilst

next three to five years and what needs

competition rising within the limited talent

stressing the importance of instilling

to happen with talent management in

pool, management mantras must align to

credibility, respect and camaraderie

order to achieve this. Among its 2,000

these desires in order for companies to

among employees.

employees from 25 different nationalities,

retain their people.

48 • HR MAGAZINE

Hong Kong • HR COMMUNITY

Enneagrams —success in HR and life The International Enneagram Association

Sweet, blind and hot spots

Key uses of Enneagrams

(IEA), a non-profit organisation promoting

Each type has a sweet spot—an intuitive

• individual applications—to help people

the value of the Enneagram, recently held

perceptual edge with a corresponding

a weekend get-together at The University

behavioural competence that contributes

of Hong Kong. IEA China, who hosted the

to interpersonal relationships and team

two-day conference, aims to promote the

performance.

ethical use of the Enneagram for personal

analyse themselves; • psychological applications—to help diagnose different personality types; and • business applications—to help build

Conversely, each type also has a blind

more effective and functioning teams

and community growth throughout APAC.

spot—those parts of the self and world

The series of workshops focused on the

that may not be seen clearly because the

design and use of Enneagrams—both in the

interests and concerns of that type point the

Why should HR use Enneagrams?

workplace and in everyday life. Attendees

individual in other directions.

In terms of assisting HR, Enneagrams can

included coaches, social workers, HR

Each type also has a hot spot, an area of

professionals and people simply interested

vulnerability that is triggered when what

in personal development.

is important to that type gets discounted.

and enhance leadership skills.

be used to: •

and what job functions they are best

Accordingly, each type then deploys Ennea-what?

defensive strategies to try to stop the person

The Enneagram system of personality

from getting hurt.

types has numerous applications and aims

ascertain different employee types suited to;

•

look at sweet spots that different characters have and what they can best

At the conference, Dr Jerome

contribute to a group; and

to enhance understanding of nine key

Wagner, Ph.D. a clinical psychologist,

personality types. The name Enneagram

psychotherapist and consultant from

they look for, what their vision is,

means ‘drawing of nine’ and is derived from

Chicago explained the Enneagram and

what they are happy to contribute to

two Greek words: ‘ennea’ meaning ‘nine’

the nine personality styles. Introduced

the world, what they value and what is

and ‘gram’ meaning ‘drawing/figure’.

to the Enneagram system in 1971, Dr

important to them generally.

The Enneagram is a nine-point diagram

•

identify type-alike groups to see what

Wagner was among the earliest students

inscribed in a circle. The meaning of the symbol

of the Enneagram in the United States

itself, together with the personality types

and pioneered formal research studies in

organised around the nine points, conveys a

the field. He constructed an Enneagram

system of knowledge about nine distinct but

inventory—the Wagner Enneagram

interrelated personality types, or nine ways of

Personality Style Scales (WEPSS)—which is

seeing and experiencing the world.

a recognised psychometric assessment tool.

Each personality style has resourceful

Dr Wagner traces the origins of the

self-enhancing features which can become

Enneagram back to: the Bolivian, Oscar

non-resourceful and self-defeating if used

Ichazo—who claimed he achieved insight

excessively or exclusively. The idea is to

into mechanistic and repetitive thought and

identify what ‘type’ you and your staff are

behavior patterns in 1954; the Armenian,

and then find ways of more effectively

George Ivanovich Gurdjieff and the Chilean

managing each personality type.

psychiatrist, Claudio Naranjo.

SUMMER 2013 • 49

HR COMMUNITY

9.50 – 10.25 9.10 – 9.50 Debbie Cross

Global Director of Talent, Shangri-La International Hotel Management Ltd. Mukta Arya

Head, People and Talent Development, Human Resources, Asia Pacific, Societe Generale Topic: What works and what doesn’t—best practices in graduate recruitment and potential minefields to avoid Gordon Zeilstra When recruiting graduates effectively, Arya stressed the importance of identifying the company’s objectives and clearly

Global Director of Product Strategy, SuccessFactors

communicating this to the right people. She said, “Sometimes people get out of the loop with the rest of the group, and

Topic: Are your new hires making an impact on your business?

[sometimes] they’re the ones hiring.” When you have decided what your company wants and where it is going, think of what

How can you identify the best talent when faced with a target

you will need to get there. Recruiting, especially recruiting

to hire over 200 graduates for the corporate trainee programme

graduates, is not just something for tomorrow.

in 2013? According to Cross, outsourcing is sometimes the right

Arya asserted that the company’s drive to locate and recruit

move and the organisation has partnered with two search firms

university graduates is a well-thought out strategic move. She

to source the best talent. Finding candidates whose values

said, “It is an investment, we’re not just buying talent.” The

and attributes align with the company’s culture is central to

company recognises that the graduates they recruit are a major

this particular search which involves recruits taking part in a

asset to the business in its quest to add to the graduate pool,

16-month training programme in the hotels and attending a

using them as student ambassadors in key Asian universities to

training academy to gain experience.

function as mentors to future hires and being a communicative link during the long selection process.

As part of the recruitment process, graduates are sent on an

Cross went on to explain, “With over 9,000 application a year, filtering talent can be a challenge but we have come a long way in terms of how we short-list and select the right

overseas excursion to allow them to network with peers and

candidates to a more manageable number.” This is done

remind them that they’re joining an international company

through a combination of online applications and assessments,

that will invest in them and expand their horizons. They also

which looks for natural attributes and competencies, and a

are given soft skills and technical training. Regardless of the

fast-paced, face-to-face competency based interview process

global economic situation, Societe Generale will continue to

with students on campuses, whereby successful candidates are

run the initiation trip as a sign of its consistency.

selected on the day.

Arya commented, “Young graduates are ambitious and

Can the online assessment determine whether candidates

want a lot in a short period of time. Our recruits are given

have the right attitude for the organisation? Cross confirmed that

more attention as they are the ‘crème de la crème’ Then they

the questions put to candidates during the online process were

are expected to fast track.” To keep them happy, consistency

designed to identify the strengths of applicants as well as their

should be high on any company’s list of priorities.

career aspirations and views towards working for the company.

50 • HR MAGAZINE

Hong Kong • HR COMMUNITY

10.55 – 11.30 11.30 – 12.20 Chris Plowman

Regional Agency Director, Bernard Hodes Group Peter Finch recruitment

Managing Director, GraduACE

When it comes to attracting the best graduates, Plowman

Topic: The intelligent application of assessment to maximise

stressed the need for companies to consider four things—

quality of hire

Topic: Importance of employer branding to graduate

Awareness, Engagement, Affinity and Brand—in their offering. While a potential recruit may have heard of the

Being clever with graduate recruitment was at the heart

brand (Awareness), may like the brand (Engagement) and

of Finch’s presentation, as he placed more importance on

may purchase the company’s products (Affinity), without the

assessment in graduate recruitment than experienced hire due

positive brand image, they may not consider them as a place to

to the lack of previous work performance indicators, references

start and develop their career. He gave the example of a well-

and appraisals. He walked the audience through an example

known fast food giant; while you may have heard of it, may

of an effective graduate recruitment process, beginning with

visit the restaurant frequently and may purchase their goods;

applications, sifting, written assessments and final interview

you may never spare a thought to what great things that brand

assessment process but also using techniques that break away

could do for you. The most important factors influencing career

from tradition.

decisions, he opined, are personal experience, things heard

Finch took Loreal’s recent high-budget global recruitment

about the company, things read about the company and brand

campaign, which involved candidates playing a game to

advertising, in that order.

self sift and decide whether they were the right fit for the

Plowman advised HR directors to be aware that, “You

organisation. He also highlighted JP Morgan’s more lower-

all have a brand image. If you’re recruiting or recruiting

budget assessment process, which was based on a series of

graduates, you have one. It exists. And you need to manage it.

questions designed to engage the candidate and check their

Your employer brand is what people say about your company or

appropriateness to the company. He explained, “Whatever the

brand when you’re not in the room.” Thanks to the now more

budget there is always room to shorten the process through

connected world, conversations can happen at any time in any

clever assessment processes and whatever organisations can

place and one negative review can spread. He commented,

do to filter candidates is important.”

“Get happy recruits to spread the world, ambassadors are key.”

Since today’s graduates are looking for a place to fit their

He also explained the importance of clear branding in order to engage with graduates during the recruitment process

career, Plowman suggested that companies identify and define

through to assessment and interview stage. He concluded,

the attributes that set them apart—“Dig deep to find out

“Whether that is online or at test centres, it’s important to

what makes you special, interview recent graduate recruits

put out the right message and convey the right core values to

and find out why they joined.” He cautioned against making

entice the right fit.”

unrealistic promises as Gen-Y will up-ship if they find they have been duped. Try to make brand campaigns interactive and up to date. Graduates will have seen the offerings from many companies and you will need to stand out—as for the general blurb—they’ve heard it all before.

SUMMER 2013 • 51

HR COMMUNITY • Hong Kong

14.00 – 14.40

14.40 – 15.20

Tony Ye

Director, GradConnection

Jean-Baptiste Aloy

Senior VP, Employee Research, Ipsos Topic: What today’s graduates want from employers and what HR should be doing to recruit & successfully onboard the best of them.

Daniel Purchas

Director, GradConnecetion

Graduates want it all. Aloy explained, “It’s not a single thing you can add to the package.” He said Gen-Y’s relationship to work in Asia was built upon ‘pleasure’ and ‘security’—‘security’

Topic: Asian graduates in overseas & mobile usage

more so in China and ‘pleasure’ in India. ‘Pride’ is significant in places such as Latin America, however, not so in Hong Kong

Ye explored the different between local and international

as people in the SAR are more discreet. Aloy stated that an

talent and highlighted the ongoing struggle of many

employer in Hong Kong needs to consider this when creating

organisations to get strong candidates on a local level. He

a graduate recruitment strategy. He said that referral is the

explained that Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore are a hub

number one channel to recruit in the USA but the number of

for international graduates and provide a benefit for Asian

Hong Kong employees who would recommend their employer

companies seeking fresh talent.

is low at 37%. This score is one of the lowest in the world and

With a target audience spanning the world how can

he suggested, “Hong Kong employees are unlikely to be natural

organisations seek the right talent? According to Purchas, a

brand ambassadors.” This is in stark contrast to Brazil, where up

lot has changed in the online landscape over the last 30 years

to 90% of employees would recommend their employer.

and mobile has revolutionised the recruitment process. He

Aloy suggested that employers could tap into employees’

explained, “We have seen over the past 12 months a 252%

social spheres by using social media, such as LinkedIn, to

increase in traffic from mobile devices as more and more

access a pool of potential talent. Taco Bell in the USA used the

graduates are doing research during their commute to work

social media platform Pinterest to do this, but in Hong Kong,

or when stuck in traffic.” Organisations are more concerned

Aloy said, “Social media is still extremely personal.” Only 24%

with online engagement nowadays and monitoring traffic has

of employees in Hong Kong say it is fine to be contacted by a

become core to the recruitment process for most firms across

recruiter on Facebook. Aloy asserted that employers should

the globe. With this trend in mind, Purchas explained the

be more innovative and use techniques such as storytelling,

rise in popularity of mobile apps and websites geared towards

visual job descriptions and campus activities to engage a

users of multiple devices such as iPads and mobiles.

potential candidate with the brand. Virgin Atlantic used

How do you decide

in the face of ordinary’ to evoke emotive memories among

resources? After

potential candidates. Mars created ‘tweet for a treat’ to engage

conducting research

undergraduates on campus by giving them an actual Mars

into the number

product in return for a tweet—instead of the usual t-shirt and

of users visiting

pen combination.

their website and

Aloy advised that employers must make their EVP clear

downloading their own

as well as benchmark and understand each employee’s

app, Purchas concluded

experience. Aloy suggested asking your new graduate recruits,

that website traffic

“Is your work experience in line with what you expected?”

outweighed take-up of the app and stressed the importance of focusing on developing a strong website to attract graduates.

52 • HR MAGAZINE

storytelling to create an advertising campaign called ‘flying

where to put your

Hong Kong • HR COMMUNITY

15.50 – 16.30

Nishilla McKeogh

Manager, Graduate Recruitment, KPMG China Topic: Narrowing the gap between what graduate employees want and what employers want at KPMG. McKeogh asserted that local employers feel the local education system fails to equip graduates with the skills needed in the workplace. KPMG is trying to narrow the gap through collaborative projects, not only with universities, but increasingly it is reaching out sooner, to secondary schools, in the hope of igniting a passion for learning in students and enriching a later batch of graduates. She advised that working with institutions does not necessarily mean arranging a paid sponsorship—make a counteroffer. By starting internship and mentoring programmes, companies can benefit from the insight of another generation, identify talent, promote their brand and see if the individual would be a good fit.

KPMG in fact approaches first-year university students with the offer of mentoring which is attractive to universities as students can improve their interview skills, increase their employability, learn how to present their CV and network. Paid and unpaid internships give the opportunity to train both soft and hard skill sets while developing a working relationship with the student. At the end of the internship, KPMG give an ‘end interview’ which at times contains a job offer, between 80 and 90% of interns convert to full-time employees.

KPMG employees that partake in buddy, mentor and ambassador roles often do so on their own time, unpaid.

McKeogh put this down to the company’s teamwork culture.

She emphasised that successful graduate recruitment programmes can be delivered on a budget by being creative.

She said, “Use your alumni network, workshops and ambassadors. The universities are aware that there is a gap [between what is wanted and what is being produced] and they are working with us to improve it.”

SUMMER 2013 • 53

HR LEGAL

54 • HR MAGAZINE

HR LEGAL

Moving your staff to the UK via Tier 2 (General)?

Then make sure you read the small print

With increased regulation associated with the

What happens if their main job or working

United Kingdom’s employment-based intra-

hours change significantly?

company transfer (ICT) immigration routes,

The sponsors must apply to the authorities

more and more firms are turning to the Tier

for permission to change their employee’s

2 (General) visa category to fill permanent

employment if:

gaps in their workforce that cannot be filled by a UK settled worker writes Smith Stone

•

there is a change to their core duties,

Walters—UK Immigration Practice. Whilst

which means that their job is now

this route is an attractive proposition, both

in a different Standard Occupational

the HR Department and the prospective UK bound employee should still be mindful of the regulations they are each signing up to.

Classification (SOC) code; or •

their salary reduces from the level indicated on their current certificate of sponsorship (unless this is caused by

What can the worker do whilst in the UK

a temporary companywide reduction

under a T2 (General) visa?

in working hours and salaries or by

Upon visa approval, a migrant worker can

maternity leave).

initially enter the UK under Tier 2 (General) for a maximum of three years plus one

What if the worker wants to start a new job?

month. Subsequent permission can usually

If a migrant sponsored under Tier 2 wants

be sought to remain for a further three years.

to leave a job and work for a different

Whilst in the UK under Tier 2 (General) migrant workers:

employer, the migrant must make a new application for permission to stay and work in the UK, and must have a

•

•

must not own more than 10 per cent

certificate of sponsorship from the new

of their sponsor's (i.e. employer’s)

employer. The only exception to this is

shares; and

where the migrant will be continuing in

will have no access to state benefits or

the same job for a new employer following

other public funds.

a takeover, merger or de-merger.

A significant change of circumstances

The only work that they are permitted to

such as this would need to be reported

carry out is as described in their certificate

by the employer to the immigration

of sponsorship, working for their sponsor.

authorities within 10 working days of the

Supplementary work is also permissible so long

event in question.

as the position is in the same sector and at the

It can be a complex process to ensure

same professional level. The supplementary

compliance with UK immigration duties

employment must take place outside their

and procedures, particularly in changeable

normal working hours for their main job for a

environments or when managing the

maximum of 20 hours per week. Aside from

demands of a large workforce. HR should

unpaid voluntary work, any other type of

therefore always consider the benefits

paid additional work—known as 'secondary

available from partnering with a specialist

employment'—must be authorised.

immigration practice.

SUMMER 2013 • 55

HR CLASSIFIEDS

Index Business Process Outsourcing

| 56

Management Consulting

| 59

Conference and Exhibition Venues

| 56

Pest Control and Environmental Services

| 60

Education and Corporate Training

| 57

Psychological Assessment Tools

| 60

Employee Wellbeing and Insurance

| 58

Recruitment / Executive Search

| 60

HR Technology Solutions

| 58

Relocation and Logistics

| 61

Leadership Development

| 59

Service Apartment and Hotel

| 62

Legal / Employment Law / Tax

| 59

Staff Benefits

| 62

Business Process Outsourcing Dynamic Resources has been established since 1997 with direct offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Vancouver. We provide Outsourcing Services in Employment, Payroll & Fringe Benefits Administration; Project Recruitment & Mapping; Executive Coaching; Business Entity (Representative Office, WOFE) & HR Management System Establishment in the PRC.

Dynamic Resources Asia Limited 904, Tower B 14 Science Museum Road Tsim Sha Tsui East, Hong Kong

KCS is one of Asia’s leading independent corporate services companies. We specialise in corporate accounting, corporate secretarial, payroll solutions, trust and wealth advisory services as well as tailored solutions for the private equity and asset management industry. We offer unrivalled industry experience and expertise combined with the collective wisdom that comes from over 450 experts based in 13 locations across Asia. We are large enough to handle any size of project, but small enough to ensure that every assignment is based on personal trust and commitment—a combination rarely seen in business today. Discover the difference total peace of mind can make to your business.

KCS Hong Kong Limited 8th Floor, Gloucester Tower, The Landmark, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong

Tricor is a member of The Bank of East Asia Group. Tricor Business Services offers efficient, effective and professional advisory and outsourced support services to our clients. We deliver seamless solutions to address issues in accounting & financial reporting; cash, fund and payment administration; human resources and payroll administration; business advisory; trade services; and systems solutions to ensure the adoption of best practices in your business.

Tricor Services Limited Level 28, Three Pacific Place, 1 Queen’s Road East, Hong Kong

Cliftons provides premium, purpose-built, training and event facilities and solutions, ensuring our clients’ programmes are delivered seamlessly and successfully around the globe. Over the past 14 years, Cliftons has grown to provide clients with the largest network of dedicated computer and seminar training facilities across the Asia Pacific region. Encompassing over 150 state-of-the-art training and meeting rooms within 10 CBD locations in New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and Hong Kong, this footprint of proprietary venues is supplemented by a global affiliates network that allows clients to manage all of their training needs around the world with a single point of contact.

Cliftons Training Facility 33rd Floor, 9 Queen’s Road, Central, Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 2135 8038 kcliu@dynamic-resource.com www.dynamic-resource.com

Tel: (852) 3589 8899 Fax: (852) 3589 8555 info@kcs.com www.kcs.com

Tel: (852) 2980 1888 Fax: (852) 2861 0285 info@hk.tricorglobal.com www.hk.tricorglobal.com

Conference & Exhibition Venues

56 • HR MAGAZINE

Tel: (852) 2159 9999 enquiries@cliftons.com www.cliftons.com

HR CLASSIFIEDS

AsiaWorld-Expo is Hong Kong’s leading exhibitions, conventions, concerts and events venue, yet it is also an ideal venue for annual dinners, world-class conferences, cocktail receptions, media luncheons and sumptuous banquets. With Hong Kong’s largest indoor convention and hospitality hall, AsiaWorld-Summit which seats up to 5,000 persons, together with a full range of meeting and conference facilities, award-winning chefs and attentive hospitality staff, AsiaWorld-Expo is definitely your choice for an unforgettable event.

AsiaWorld-Expo Management Limited AsiaWorld-Expo, Hong Kong International Airport, Lantau, Hong Kong, China

Our Executive Voice Coaching Program teaches practical techniques to harness the power of your voice in order to speak with confidence and authority. Unique in Asia, our programme takes place in a professional recording studio and uses studio technology to reinforce learning. This training is designed for Middle and Senior Executives whose need to communicate effectively is critical, and complements existing corporate training and development programmes.

All Voice Talent 18th Floor, Wheelock House, 20 Pedder Street Central, Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 3606 8888 Fax: (852) 3606 8889 fnb@asiaworld-expo.com www.asiaworld-expo.com

Education and Corporate Training

All Voice Talent is Asia’s premier voiceover and voice coaching organisation. We supply voice artists, directors and trainers for amongst others, Bloomberg, The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft, Turner Broadcasting, British Council and Fleishman Hillard.

Tel: (852) 2517 0866 Fax: (852) 2911 4732 info@allvoicetalent.com www.allvoicetalent.com

Bite-Sized Training High impact 90 minute workshops. Staff too busy to attend full day training, looking for better ROI for your training, need training delivered in your local language, want lunchand-learn or breakfast sessions, or just need training delivered across multiple locations? Bite Sized Training is the answer! With 25 topics to choose from, covering everything from Negotiation, Delivering Presentations, Managing Gen-Y, Sales and Leadership, and delivered by expert, accredited trainers, Bite Sized Training is the learning and development system of choice for leading companies across the Asia Pacific. Visit www.bitesizedtraining.asia or email info@bitesizedtraining.asia for more information.

Bite-Sized Training Suite 1001 - 1002, Mass Mutual Tower, 38 Gloucester Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Tailor-made business training, testing and benchmarking solutions throughout Hong Kong, Macau and China. Corporate and individual programmes.

Excel Education Limited Unit 101, Fourseas Building, 208-212 Nathan Road, Jordan, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Excel’s renowned courses are tailored to the job nature, level and needs of the students. Our targeted, interactive approach in facilitation has allowed us to build an unrivalled reputation in the corporate training field. Clients include: the Airport Authority, American Express, Bausch and Lomb, Credit Agricole, KCRC, the Hong Kong Government, Swire Travel and United Airlines.

Tel: 800 903 210 Fax: (852) 2816 7150 info@bitesizedtraining.asia www.bitesizedtraining.asia

Tel: (852) 2736 6339 Fax: (852) 2736 6369 info@excelhk.com www.excelhk.com

Management Consulting The Hong Kong Management Association was established in 1960.

As a non-profit-making professional organisation, its mission is to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of management in Hong Kong. Offering annually over 2,000 training programmes to more than 45,000 participants, ranging from work-orientated short courses, workshops, Certificates, Diplomas to Bachelor, Master and Doctoral Degrees, the HKMA is one of the largest providers of management training and education in the Territory.

Hong Kong Management Association 14th Floor, Fairmont House, 8 Cotton Tree Drive, Central, Hong Kong

Ipsos’ Employee Relationship Management (ERM) practice specialises in employer brand and employee engagement research programmes, as well as linking employee and customer metrics, assessing corporate values, auditing internal communications and evaluating HR management policies and practices. With offices in 84 countries, Ipsos has the resources to conduct research wherever in the world its clients do business.

Ipsos Hong Kong 22nd Floor, Leighton Centre, 77 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 2526 6516 / 2774 8500 Fax: (852) 2365 1000 hkma@hkma.org.hk www.hkma.org.hk

Tel: (852) 2881 5388 employee.research@ipsos.com www.ipsoshk.com

SUMMER 2013 • 57

HR CLASSIFIEDS

reallyenglish works with major international publishers (Cambridge University Press, Pearson Longman, McGraw-Hill) to create costeffective and flexible world-class courseware that is tailored to local needs. We provide educational, fun and interactive online courses which are easy to use and hold learners’ interest. By controlling every aspect of the service, including hosting, support, coaching and reporting, we guarantee that over 80% of students will complete their course. All our energy is devoted on two service objectives—getting students to finish and showing managers and educators the results.

reallyenglish.com (Hong Kong) 51/F Hopewell Centre, 183 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Aetna International is committed to helping create a stronger, healthier global community by delivering comprehensive health benefits and health management solutions worldwide. Aetna International's expatriate business is one of the industry's largest and most prominent US-based international health benefits providers, supporting more than 500,000 members worldwide. The organisation’s expatriate offerings include medical, dental, vision, life, disability and emergency assistance. Aetna International’s health management business collaborates with health care systems, government entities and plan sponsors around the world to design and build locally-applied health management solutions to improve health, quality and cost outcomes. For more information, see www.aetnainternational.com.

Aetna International Room 401-3, 4/F, DCH Commercial Centre, 25 Westlands Road, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong

Matilda International Hospital offers newly developed facilities and state-of-the-art equipment for a comprehensive health assessment service and is committed to providing the best care and personal attention for both corporate and individual clients. Matilda Medical Centre has extended services to Central and Tsim Sha Tsui and provides full primary and preventative healthcare services. The combined expertise of the hospital and medical centres results in an entire suite of result-orientated health and wellness services to address specific medical and budgeting needs. The provision of inpatient services and advance surgical suites ensures seemless follow through care and access to a wide range of experienced specialist facilities and advanced treatment options.

Matilda International Hospital 41 Mount Kellett Road, The Peak, Hong Kong

Pacific Prime Insurance Brokers is a leading international health insurance brokerage specialising in providing comprehensive coverage options to individuals, families, and companies throughout the AsiaPacific region. Working with over 100,000 clients in 150 countries, Pacific Prime can deliver advice in more than 15 major languages. With offices strategically located in Shanghai, Singapore, Dubai, and Hong Kong, Pacific Prime is able to provide immediate advice and assistance to policyholders located around the world. Pacific Prime works with over 60 of the world’s leading health insurance providers, giving customers unprecedented access to the best medical insurance products currently on the market.

Pacific Prime Insurance Brokers Ltd. Unit 1-11, 35th Floor, One Hung To Road, Kwun Tong, Hong Kong

With a mission of providing and promoting primary and preventive eyecare to the public, PolyVision offers a pioneering eye healthcare plan fitting different staff benefit schemes, and provides eye care seminars and packages to help monitor and maintain the eye health of staff through companies.

PolyVision Eyecare Centres Room 4406-4410, Hopewell Centre, 183 Queens’ Road East, Wanchai, Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 3602 3090 Fax: (852) 3602 3111 Mobile: (852) 5165 2467 davida@reallyenglish.com www.reallyenglish.com

Employee Wellbeing and Insurance

Their eye examination is one of the most comprehensive in Hong Kong. It covers: Case History, Vision & Refractive Status, Binocular Vision, Color Vision Screening, Intra-ocular Pressure, Ocular Health, Fundus Photography, Diagnosis & Treatment.

Tel: (852) 2860 8081 Fax: (852) 2147 9960 Mobile: (852) 5165 2467 asiapacsales@aetna.com www.aetnainternational.com

Contact person: Sireen Cheng Tel: (852) 2849 0389 www.matilda.org

Tel: (852) 3113 1331 Fax: (852) 2915 7770 info@pacificprime.com marketing@pacificprime.com www.pacificprime.com

Tel: (852) 2861 0138 Fax: (852) 2861 0123 info@polyvision.com.hk www.polyvision.com.hk

HR Technology Solutions Lumesse is the only global company making talent management solutions work locally. We help customers around the world to implement successful local talent management initiatives that identify, nurture and develop the right people, in the right place, at the right time. Our multi-cultural background and presence means we understand how to deliver talent solutions that work the way our customers work, as individuals and as teams, because no two people, organisations or cultures are the same. We regard differences as strengths, not as obstacles.

58 • HR MAGAZINE

Lumesse Unit 1905, World Trade Centre, 280 Gloucester Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2815 3456 Fax: (852) 2890 0399 hkinfo@lumesse.com www.lumesse.com

HR CLASSIFIEDS

SilkRoad technology is a Talent Management software company providing solutions to enable companies to manage the entire career of your employees. We help you to bring in the best talent and keep it for the long term. From our offices in Hong Kong and throughout Asia Pacific we focus on the people, not the numbers, and pride ourselves in being the only HR technology vendor to centre our efforts around helping our clients provide truly positive talent experiences. Spread the smiles with SilkRoad’s talent management software. Work Happy!

SilkRoad technology Hong Kong Tai Yip Building, Floor 10-05, 141 Thompson Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong

The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®) is a top-ranked, global provider of executive education that unlocks individual and organisational potential through its exclusive focus on leadership development and research. Ranked among the world’s top providers of executive education

by BusinessWeek and No. 3 in the 2010 Financial Times executive education survey, CCL serves corporate, government and non-governmental clients through an array of programs, products and other services. CCL-APAC’s headquarters are based in Singapore. Other global locations include Brussels, Moscow and three campuses in the United States.

CCL® 89 Science Park Drive #03-07/08 The Rutherford Lobby B Singapore 118261

With 98 years of experience, Dale Carnegie Training® is a world leader in performance-based training. With offices over 80 countries worldwide and courses in 27 languages, we produce measurable business result by improving the performance of employees with emphasis on:

Dale Carnegie Training® Suite 1701, 17/F East Exchange Tower, 38 Leighton Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

Contact person: Eric Choi Tel: (852) 9193 8573 eric.choi@silkroad.com www.silkroad.com

Leadership Development

• Team member engagement • Leadership development • Customer services

• Sales effectiveness • Process improvement • Presentation effectiveness

Tel: (65) 6854 6000 Fax: (65) 6854 6001 cclasia@ccl.org www.ccl.org/apac

Tel: (852) 2845 0218 Fax: (852) 2583 9629 info@dale-carnegie.com.hk www.dale-carnegie.com.hk

Over 425 corporations of Fortune 500 continue choosing us to be their partner.

Calling all HR Managers & Directors: • Are you looking for structured programmes to develop your staff?

• Sponsor or part sponsor your staff to achieve MBA, Masters, Bachelor, Diploma or Certificate courses.

• The spend is value for money • The return is measurable & tangible • Choose from 31 courses from 9 UK Universities (Bradford, Sunderland, Wales, Birmingham etc.)

• 16 years in HK *All courses are registered

RDI Management Learning Ltd. 7/F South China Building 1-3 Wyndham Street Central, Hong Kong

alphaeight specialises in behavioural-science research and people development. We utilise research to create individual and team development solutions—focused on business objectives—for leaders, managers and frontline workers. It’s all about research and evidence: solutions, built upon scientifically proven research on how the human mind works, are practical and easy to adopt and utilise exclusive tools and techniques developed by our research institute. It’s all about you: solutions tailored to your people’s specific needs and your business objectives—give you the results you want. It’s all about impact: measure changes before, during and after development.

the alphaeight institute 1906, 19/F., Miramar Tower, 132 Nathan Road, Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Baker & McKenzie defined the global law firm of the 20th century and is redefining it to meet the needs of the global economy of the 21st century. With a network of 69 offices across 41 countries, we have been building valuable insights into the different laws and distinctive business cultures around the world. What sets us apart is our uncompromising commitment to excellence, coupled with our deep local roots and the experienced global perspective that comes from helping companies navigate sophisticated legal and business issues at home and across borders. We are regularly involved in first-to-market transactions and are widely recognised as the leading law firm in Hong Kong and China.

Baker & McKenzie 14th Floor, Hutchison House, 10 Harcourt Road, Central, Hong Kong 23rd Floor, One Pacific Place 88 Queensway, Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 2992 0133 Fax: (852) 2992 0918 info@rdihongkong.com www.rdihongkong.com

Contact person: Mrs Stephanie Herd Tel: (852) 2302 0283 Fax: (852) 2302 0006 stephanie.herd@alphaeight.com www.alphaeight.com

Legal / Employment Law / Tax

Contact person: Andreas Lauffs and Jennifer Van Dale Tel: (852) 2846 1888 hrlaw@bakermckenzie.com www.bakermckenzie.com

SUMMER 2013 • 59

HR CLASSIFIEDS

Excel Global Consulting is a leading business consultancy specialising in the enhancement of business performance through a unique approach to people management. Our goal is to deliver you the knowledge and resources to improve business productivity by creating better employee engagement within your organisation using customised human capital management solutions. With our support you’ll gain a committed, more innovative and highly motivated workforce primed to lead your business towards greater efficiency and productivity. With Excel Global your employees will gain greater job satisfaction in a solution-oriented work environment where engagement is productive, innovative and geared to better business performance.

Excel Global Company Information Level 8, Two Exchange Square, 2 Connaught Road, Central, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2846 1888 Fax: (852) 2297 2289 info@excelglobal.com www.excelglobal.com

Pest Control and Environmental Services BioCycle is the first pest management company in Hong Kong to have acquired both the ISO 14001 and the ISO 9001 System Certifications.

BioCycle was set up in 1991 to provide safe and environmentally friendly Pest Control, Termite Consulting, Sentricon Colony Elimination System for termite colony and Sanitation Services, and operates under European management.

BioCycle (Hong Kong) Limited Unit A G/F & 11/F, Lok Kui Industrial Building, 6-8 Hung To Road, Kwun Tong, Kowloon, Hong Kong

We are the exclusive user of our group’s insecticide, BioKill, which has been approved by the AFCD of HK Government not to carry the poison label.

Tel: (852) 3575 2575 Fax: (852) 3575 2570 info@biocycle.com.hk www.biocycle.com.hk

Only the professional carpet cleaning and pest-control services of Truly Care, Hong Kong’s specialists in occupational, industrial, environmental and domestic hygiene can give you a clean, safe and bug-free office and home. Don’t put your staff’s health at risk!

Truly Care (HK) Ltd. Room 1522, Nan Fung Centre, 264-298 Castle Peak Road, Tsuen Wan, N.T., Hong Kong

For a free, no obligation, inspection and quotation, please call us now on 2458 8378

Tel: (852) 2458 8378 Fax: (852) 2458 8487 info@trulycare.com.hk www.trulycare.com.hk

PsyAsia International is Asia’s leading independent distributor of Psychometric Tests of Personality and Aptitude. PsyAsia International also offers employee screening and assessment services, personal development courses and human resource training and consultancy.

Using highly qualified and experienced organisational psychologists, our solutions are World-Class. Our focus on scientific, evidence-based psychology at the core of our Human Resource Training and Consulting activities, as well as the employment of fully registered organisational psychologists, separates us from those providing similar services in the HR field.

PsyAsia International Level 8, Two Exchange Square 8 Connaught Place Central, Hong Kong

Established in 1997, ConnectedGroup is a privately owned enterprise and has developed from a pure executive search business into a full spectrum human capital consulting firm. With offices in Asia and the Middle East we are well placed to service two of the fastest growing regions in the world and our consultative and client driven approach has positioned us as a partner of choice for companies across a diverse range of functions and industries. We work to values of candid, creative and connected and our employees are constantly measured against these behaviours to deliver the highest levels of service quality.

ConnectedGroup 19/F, Silver Fortune Plaza, 1 Wellington Street, Central, Hong Kong

HRA provide human resource consultancy & recruitment support to construction, engineering, manufacturing and the oil & gas sectors.

H R Associates (HK) Limited 1703, 17/F, Silvercord Tower 1, 30 Canton Road, TST, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Psychological Assessment Tools

Tel: (852) 8200 6005 www.psyasia.com/email www.psyasia.com

Recruitment / Executive Search

Based in HK and with international partners, we operate in Asia and the ME. HR consultancy services include the full range of HR services including training; HR audits and outsourced HR support.

60 • HR MAGAZINE

Contact person: Adam Edwards Tel: (852) 3972 5888 Fax: (852) 3972 5897 adam.edwards@connectedgroup.com www.connectedgroup.com

Tel: (852) 2735 9961 Fax: (852) 2735 9967 group@hrahk.com www.hrahk.com

HR CLASSIFIEDS

Silenus is certainly your partner of choice who specialises in recruiting talents in the Consumer and Retail sectors in Hong Kong. We provide customised solutions to meet your specific recruitment needs.

Leveraging on our deep understanding of your manpower and business needs, coupled with an extensive candidate pool, we can help you recruit the right candidate who is able to drive your business to new heights.

Our dedicated professional recruitment consultants possess superb recruitment skills. They can see the competency, personality, career aspirations and interests of candidates objectively and accurately, thus enhancing the efficiency and value of the recruitment process.

Silenus (Hong Kong) Limited 8/F, World Wide House, 19 Des Voeux Road, Central, Hong Kong

Tricor Executive Resources, the former search and selection practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Hong Kong, has over the last 25 years built an unrivalled reputation for integrity and professionalism. Through focused research and intense sourcing, we recruit management and top-level executives for positions in Hong Kong, Mainland China and the region. We also offer related HR services such as recruitment outsourcing; compensation and benefit advice; outplacement and career counselling; and advisory services on grading structures and job descriptions.

Tricor Executive Resources Limited Level 28, Three Pacific Place, 1 Queen’s Road East, Hong Kong

Asian Tigers, has provided international relocation and moving service to the Hong Kong market for more than 40 years. We move people internationally, regionally, and even within Hong Kong itself. Our experienced, multilingual staff enables Asian Tigers to deliver a lowstress relocation services. Perhaps you are responsible for coordinating your office move and would like to know more about ‘low-down-time’ office relocations. Whatever your needs, wherever you are headed, Asian Tigers can help facilitate and streamline your relocation. Give us a call and find out how we can assist you.

Asian Tigers Mobility 17/F., 3 Lockhart Road Wanchai, Hong Kong

Crown Relocations, a worldwide leader of global mobility, domestic and international transportation of household goods, and departure and destination services, has over 180 offices in more than 50 countries. From preview trip and immigration assistance to home and school searches, orientation tours, intercultural training, partner career program, and ongoing assignment support, Crown offers the best relocation solutions to corporate clients and transferees across the world.

Crown Relocations 9-11 Yuen On Street, Siu Lek Yuen, Sha Tin, New Territories

Thinking Relocation? Think Santa Fe.

Santa Fe Relocation Services 18/F, CC Wu Building 302-08 Hennessy Road Wan Chai, Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 2185 6300 Fax: (852) 2185 6303 info@silenus.com.hk www.silenus.com.hk

Tel: (852) 2980 1166 Fax: (852) 2869 4410 fiona.yung@hk.tricorglobal.com www.hk.tricorglobal.com

Relocation and Logistics

Santa Fe is a leading Relocation Services Company, providing a comprehensive range of the highest quality services to individual and corporate clients, including: immigration/visa, home/school search, language/cultural training, tenancy management/expense management and local, office, domestic and International moving services.

Established in Hong Kong in 1980, Santa Fe has continuously expanded operations throughout the world. Today, Santa Fe Relocation Services is part of the Santa Fe Group and offers a single-source solution for organisations looking to transfer their employees globally. The Santa Fe Group currently operates in 52 countries with 122 offices worldwide.

Tel: (852) 2528 1384 Fax: (852) 2529 7443 info@asiantigers-hongkong.com www.asiantigers-mobility.com

Tel: (852) 2636 8388 hongkong@crownrelo.com www.crownrelo.com

Tel: (852) 2574 6204 Fax: (852) 25751907 sales@santaferelo.com www.santaferelo.com.hk

Serviced Apartments and Hotels

City Loft Serviced Studio, bucking the trend of expensive staff housing. Companies looking for staff housing can breathe a big sigh of relief with City Loft Serviced Studio value-for-money monthly rentals of only $7K – $15K per month. Whether your overseas trainees or project team need 1 month or 1 year, City Loft’s flexible rentals are perfect for teams arriving and departing Hong Kong throughout the year. Once your staff arrives at the airport, leave it with us to help them move into their small comfortable flats that are never more than 3-5 minutes from a MTR station on Hong Kong Island.

City Loft Serviced Studio Unit 801, 8/f Cheung’s Building, No. 1-3 Wing Lok Street, Sheung Wan, Hong Kong Tel: (852) 2881 7979 Fax: (852) 3196 8628 info@cityloft.com.hk www.cityloft.com.hk

SUMMER 2013 • 61

HR CLASSIFIEDS

at the ICC megalopolis

Four Seasons Place, the epitome of luxury and elegance, Four Seasons Place creates a relaxed and homely living environment amidst the surrounding opulence. With 519 serviced suites designed by internationally renowned designers, guests can choose from a range of stylish accommodations from studios and 1/2/3-bedroom suites to penthouses that open up to spectacular views of Victoria Harbour. It also features a rooftop heated pool & Jacuzzi, sky lounge, gymnasium, sauna and multi-purpose function room to meet business and recreational needs. Heralding a comfortable, hassle-free living experience, all guests are pampered with personalised hotel services from VIP airport pick-up to 24-hour multi-lingual concierge services.

Four Seasons Place 8 Finance Street, Central, Hong Kong

Ovolo, is a Hong Kong hospitality company that provides guests with modern city accommodation with award-winning interiors, focused customer care and all-inclusive service packages. Founded in 2002, the company now own and operate four hotels and two serviced apartment properties in Hong Kong and an international hotel in Melbourne, Australia.

Ovolo Group Limited 3 Artbuthnot Road, Central, Hong Kong

The HarbourView Place, The HarbourView Place is part of the Kowloon Station development, located at a key harbour crossing point. Located atop the MTR and Airport Express Link at Kowloon Station. The junction of major rail lines, 3 minutes to Central, 20 minutes to the Airport, a mere 30 minutes to Shenzhen and 60 minutes to Guangzhou. It is a place for the best view of Hong Kong and Kowloon and is an icon property at Harbour Gateway.

Located next to International Commerce Centre (ICC), the fourth tallest building in the world, The Ritz-Carlton, Hong Kong and W Hong Kong. Guests can enjoy a premium luxury living with the large shopping mall Elements and Hong Kong’s highest indoor observation deck Sky100.

The HarbourView Place 1 Austin Road West, Kowloon, Hong Kong

Vega Suites, is the first stylish suite hotel in Kowloon East. Located atop the MTR Tseung Kwan O Station, Island East and Kowloon East only 3 MTR stations away. The integrated complex becomes a new landmark creating a comfortable, relaxing and home like living space for guests. The all-encompassing landmark development comprises two international hotels & the luxury residence The Wings. Situated directly above the trendy PopCorn mall and connected to one million square feet of shopping, dining, leisure and entertainment. There is a lustrous selection of units ranging from Studio, 1-Bedroom, 2-Bedroom to 3-Bedroom with flexible staying term.

Vega Suites 3 Tong Tak Street, Tseung Kwan O, Hong Kong

Red Packet is the market leading gift experience provider and offers a range of corporate gift experiences tailored for corporate reward & recognition programs. Red Packet offers a unique range of experiences across gastronomy, sport, entertainment and discovery, and are ideal for employee recognition rewards or for a wider customer loyalty campaigns.

Red Packet 15/F, Shun Feng International, 182 Queen’s Road East, Wanchai

As the most comprehensive and strategically focused employee benefits specialist, Mybenefits provides international companies with a one-stop solution to achieving employee benefit objectives and has quickly become the preferred partner of Human Resource professionals in Asia.

Mybenefits 14/F, Grand Millennium Plaza 181 Queen’s Road Central Hong Kong

Tel: (852) 3196 8228 Fax: (852) 3196 8628 enquiries@fsphk.com www.fsphk.com

Tel: (852) 2165 1000 Fax: (852) 2790 5490 info@ovologroup.com www.ovologroup.com

Tel: (852) 3718 8000 Fax: (852) 3718 8008 enquiries@harbourviewplace.com www.harbourviewplace.com

Tel: (852) 3963 7888 Fax: (852) 3963 7889 enquiries@vegasuites.com.hk www.vegasuites.com.hk

Staff Benefits

100% proven track record at helping companies: Reduce employee benefit costs, Reduce HR workload, Increase employee satisfaction

62 • HR MAGAZINE

Tel: (852) 3168 0228 Fax: (852) 3568 5252 corporate@redpacket.hk www.redpacket.hk

Contact person: Pauline Williams Tel: (852) 2891 8915 info@welcometoalliance.com www.welcometoalliance.com

HR CLASSIFIEDS

Nespresso, the worldwide pioneer and market leader in highest-quality premium portioned coffee, introduces consumers to the world’s finest Grand Cru coffees to be enjoyed in the comfort of their own homes and savoured outside the home, in locations such as gourmet restaurants, upscale hotels, luxury outlets and offices. Nespresso is driven by core competencies that enable it to create highest quality Grand Cru coffees, long lasting consumer relationships, and sustainable business success.

Nespresso focuses on its unique Trilogy, the unmatched combination of exceptional coffee, smart and stylish coffee machines and personalised customer service. Together, these three elements deliver moments of pure indulgence – the Nespresso Ultimate Coffee Experiences.

Nespresso Division of Nestle Hong Kong Ltd. 7 Floor, Manhattan Place, 23 Wang Tai Road, Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong

Total Loyalty Company provides a staff social club outsourcing solution for Hong Kong companies. Offering a customised solution for each client, the staff social club program includes a company branded website, branded membership cards, a wide range of lifestyle benefits and privileges and a full calendar of social events. A staff social club can add immense value to a company’s culture, from generating greater employee engagement, assisting with staff retention, through to creating a better work life balance for employees.

Total Loyalty Company Suite 2202, 22/F Manley Comm. Bldg.

367-375 Queen’s Road Central, HK

Tel: 800 905 486 Fax: 800 968 822 club.asia@nespresso.com www.nespresso-pro.com

Contact person: Sam Lau Tel: (852) 2536 9010 Fax: (852) 2536 9008 sam@totalloyalty.hk www.totalloyalty.hk

Managing difficult employees Get advice from industry experts on: • Enhancing employee communication • Successful negotiation strategies • Conflict resolution strategies that work • Matching EVPs with recruitment & onboarding strategies • HRIS—case studies—what works, what doesn’t and why

18 July 2013 8.30AM–4.30PM

HR BOOKS

Creating Balance & Finding Happiness

By Diane Lang, MA

This publication serves as a happiness toolkit—a handy-sized reference book on

Talent Intelligence: What you need to know to identify and measure talent

By Nik Kinley & Shlomo Ben-Hur

goals and action plans to get there.

Lang advised that workers should

The USD4-billion-per-annum talent management business is failing to deliver

how to find harmony when faced with the

consider their career and whether it was

that which it was created for over thirty

mounting and often conflicting pressures

right for them. Typically they are happier

years ago. Why? In this book, authors

of work and home life. It offers simple,

and more creative if immersed in a career

Kinley and Ben-Hur investigate the current

realistic and easy-to-use tips for happiness.

rather than employed in a mere ‘job’. To

state of the market, its dubious products

According to Lang, many employees work

probe further she suggested questioning,

and services and why it is failing to make

anywhere between 60 and 80 hours a week

“Are you passionate?” Another strong

the impact it could. They theorise that

once commuting and technology-enabled

recommendation was to make time for

organisations are either using the wrong

work outside of contracted hours are

the family which is far away from the

assessment processes for their needs or

accounted for. It is of little surprise, she

distractions of technology. As for HR she

are using them in ways that limit their

concludes, that a large proportion of these

asserted that they should offer both on-

impact. In response, the book shows how to

are facing work-life balance issues and

site wellness programmes and coaching to

overcome the stumbling blocks that stand

resulting dips in their happiness quotient.

show that the company cares—back to that

in the way of successful talent intelligence

most fundamental belief that contentment

and gives a step-by-step guide of what

breeds productivity.

companies should be measuring, how to do

The book maintains that the building of a strong core is essential for happiness: that the spiritual foundation is as central to our

From the Humanistic school of

so, how they can use this information and

emotional health as a physical therapist

psychological thought, Lang promotes self-

how they can use it best to get the results

would claim is the spine, surrounding

awareness and the power of internal change.

they want.

muscles and central nervous system to

Since these principles are universal this

our physical wellness. It goes on to offer

compact resource is valuable for anyone:

solutions which deal with a variety of states

the average employee seeking to shoo away

of being which cause stress, dissatisfaction

those Monday-morning blues through

and unhappiness such as losing control

to the enlightened HR Director planning

and anger, and cites amongst others the

morale-boosting policies to enhance

philosophy of Albert Schweitzer as its ethos,

company performance.

“In the hopes of reaching the moon men fail to see the flowers at their feet.”

When questioned how the book

Lang is a Positive Living Expert and Psychotherapist and a nationally recognised speaker, author, educator, therapist and

helps employees in their daily quest for

media expert. In addition to holding

happiness, the author’s response was

multiple counselling positions, she is

forthright —by relinquishing control;

also an adjunct professor at Montclair

employees need to delegate to release the

State University. She has spoken at many

need for control. By trying to resolve those

companies and universities including

things that we have no control over we

Bayer and JP Morgan and is becoming

become angry, frustrated and overwhelmed.

well known for her vibrant, inspiring and

In the same way she rationalised that the

action provoking workshops and wellness

search for perfection is futile. Workers and

programmes for employees of small and

management should set small, realistic

large companies.

64 • HR MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2013 • 65